Monday, August 11, 2008

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals starts dosing in Phase 1 cancer drug study

By Mass High Tech Staff

The first patient has been given an initial dose of a cancer-fighting therapy by Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a Phase 1 clinical study, according to company officials.

Cambridge-based Merrimack’s compound, called MM-121, is a human monoclonal antibody designed to block signaling of the particular receptor that plays a critical role in cancer signaling. MM-121 is Merrimack’s first oncology product, officials said, and is the first selective antagonist for that receptor — ErbB3 — to enter human clinical development.

Enrollment in the Phase 1 study is underway at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia to valuate the safety and pharmacokinetics of MM-121. Two additional oncology sites are expected to participate in the trial later this year.

In June Merrimack announced it had raised $60 million in a sixth round of private equity financing.

The biotech company said it will use the fresh capital to develop its pipeline of biologic drugs for autoimmune diseases, including its lead molecule, MM-093, which is in a Phase 2 clinical trial for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The Series F round of funding came from Credit Suisse First Boston Next Fund Inc., Crocker Ventures, HNI Holdings Ltd., Noonday Asset Management LP funds, TPG-Axon Capital and WT Investment Advisors LP, according to Merrimack.

Merrimack has raised $203 million in private capital, and its previous funding was a $65 million round announced in April 2006. The private firm says its biologic drug discovery technology, invented by scientists from MIT and Harvard University, rapidly identifies proteins to improve validation.