The OGX-427 ORCA™ Program Continues to Expand with Patient Enrollment Now Open for Second Phase 2 Trial of OGX-427 in Advanced Bladder Cancer
BOTHELL, WA, USA and VANCOUVER , Canada I April 30, 2013 I OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OGXI) today announced initiation of the Borealis-2™ clinical trial, an investigator-sponsored, randomized Phase 2 trial evaluating OGX-427 in combination with docetaxel in patients with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer who have disease progression following first-line platinum-based chemotherapy treatment.
Borealis-2 will randomize approximately 200 patients to receive either OGX-427 plus docetaxel treatment or docetaxel treatment alone. Patients may also continue weekly OGX-427 infusions as maintenance treatment until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity if they complete all 10 planned cycles of docetaxel or are discontinued from docetaxel due to docetaxel toxicity. The primary endpoint of the trial is overall survival, with secondary objectives to evaluate safety, tolerability, tumor response rates and the effect of therapy on heat shock protein (Hsp27) levels and circulating tumor cells.
“Resistance to initial chemotherapy is a frequent occurrence in patients with advanced bladder cancer, and is often frustrating for physicians and devastating for patients who have limited treatment options available,” stated Noah M. Hahn MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center and one of the primary investigators on the trial. “We hope that this trial will shed new light on the role of Hsp27 in bladder cancer and the ability of OGX-427 to work synergistically with second- or third-line chemotherapy to overcome resistance and prolong survival.”
Borealis-2 is the second randomized, controlled clinical trial of OGX-427 in advanced bladder cancer. Borealis-1™ is a company-sponsored, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of OGX-427 in combination with first-line gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with metastatic bladder cancer. If either Borealis trial shows a survival advantage, OncoGenex plans to initiate conversations with the Food and Drug Administration about the possibility of a Phase 3 trial of OGX-427 in bladder cancer as part of the ORCA™ program.
Borealis-2 is being conducted at approximately 30 sites in the U.S. and is sponsored by the Hoosier Oncology Group. Dr. Noah Hahn from the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Dr. Toni Choueiri from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Jonathan Rosenberg from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center will serve as the primary investigators on the trial. Please visit http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01780545 for more information.
ABOUT BLADDER CANCER
Nearly 400,000 cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed per year, worldwide. Approximately 30 percent of patients have locally invasive or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, and 50 percent of patients with locally invasive disease relapse with metastases within two years. Limited options exist for both the first- and second-line treatment of advanced bladder cancer. First-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimens result in a median overall survival of approximately 12-15 months. Docetaxel is commonly used in second-line treatment, with a reported median overall survival of approximately six months. Given acquired treatment resistance and these short survival times, there continues to be a high unmet need for additional therapeutic options for this patient population.
ABOUT OGX-427 and ORCA™
OGX-427 is a once-weekly intravenous (IV) drug that is designed to inhibit production of heat shock protein (Hsp27) to disable cancer cells’ defenses and overcome treatment resistance. Hsp27 is an intracellular protein that protects cancer cells by helping them survive, leading to resistance and more aggressive cancer phenotypes.
The ORCA (Ongoing Studies Evaluating Treatment Resistance in CAncer) program encompasses clinical trials of OGX-427. Phase 2 clinical trials are underway in bladder, lung and prostate cancers, with additional trials expected to initiate this year. For more information on OGX-427 and ORCA, please visit www.OncoGenex.com.
ABOUT ONCOGENEX
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new therapies that address treatment resistance in cancer patients. OncoGenex has a diverse oncology pipeline, with each product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and representing a unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OncoGenex and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) have entered a global collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize OncoGenex’ lead drug candidate, custirsen. Custirsen is currently in Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and in patients with advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer. OGX-427 is in Phase 2 clinical development and OGX-225 is currently in pre-clinical development. More information is available at www.OncoGenex.com.
SOURCE: OncoGenex
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The OGX-427 ORCA™ Program Continues to Expand with Patient Enrollment Now Open for Second Phase 2 Trial of OGX-427 in Advanced Bladder Cancer
BOTHELL, WA, USA and VANCOUVER , Canada I April 30, 2013 I OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OGXI) today announced initiation of the Borealis-2™ clinical trial, an investigator-sponsored, randomized Phase 2 trial evaluating OGX-427 in combination with docetaxel in patients with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer who have disease progression following first-line platinum-based chemotherapy treatment.
Borealis-2 will randomize approximately 200 patients to receive either OGX-427 plus docetaxel treatment or docetaxel treatment alone. Patients may also continue weekly OGX-427 infusions as maintenance treatment until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity if they complete all 10 planned cycles of docetaxel or are discontinued from docetaxel due to docetaxel toxicity. The primary endpoint of the trial is overall survival, with secondary objectives to evaluate safety, tolerability, tumor response rates and the effect of therapy on heat shock protein (Hsp27) levels and circulating tumor cells.
“Resistance to initial chemotherapy is a frequent occurrence in patients with advanced bladder cancer, and is often frustrating for physicians and devastating for patients who have limited treatment options available,” stated Noah M. Hahn MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center and one of the primary investigators on the trial. “We hope that this trial will shed new light on the role of Hsp27 in bladder cancer and the ability of OGX-427 to work synergistically with second- or third-line chemotherapy to overcome resistance and prolong survival.”
Borealis-2 is the second randomized, controlled clinical trial of OGX-427 in advanced bladder cancer. Borealis-1™ is a company-sponsored, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of OGX-427 in combination with first-line gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with metastatic bladder cancer. If either Borealis trial shows a survival advantage, OncoGenex plans to initiate conversations with the Food and Drug Administration about the possibility of a Phase 3 trial of OGX-427 in bladder cancer as part of the ORCA™ program.
Borealis-2 is being conducted at approximately 30 sites in the U.S. and is sponsored by the Hoosier Oncology Group. Dr. Noah Hahn from the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Dr. Toni Choueiri from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Jonathan Rosenberg from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center will serve as the primary investigators on the trial. Please visit http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01780545 for more information.
ABOUT BLADDER CANCER
Nearly 400,000 cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed per year, worldwide. Approximately 30 percent of patients have locally invasive or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, and 50 percent of patients with locally invasive disease relapse with metastases within two years. Limited options exist for both the first- and second-line treatment of advanced bladder cancer. First-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimens result in a median overall survival of approximately 12-15 months. Docetaxel is commonly used in second-line treatment, with a reported median overall survival of approximately six months. Given acquired treatment resistance and these short survival times, there continues to be a high unmet need for additional therapeutic options for this patient population.
ABOUT OGX-427 and ORCA™
OGX-427 is a once-weekly intravenous (IV) drug that is designed to inhibit production of heat shock protein (Hsp27) to disable cancer cells’ defenses and overcome treatment resistance. Hsp27 is an intracellular protein that protects cancer cells by helping them survive, leading to resistance and more aggressive cancer phenotypes.
The ORCA (Ongoing Studies Evaluating Treatment Resistance in CAncer) program encompasses clinical trials of OGX-427. Phase 2 clinical trials are underway in bladder, lung and prostate cancers, with additional trials expected to initiate this year. For more information on OGX-427 and ORCA, please visit www.OncoGenex.com.
ABOUT ONCOGENEX
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new therapies that address treatment resistance in cancer patients. OncoGenex has a diverse oncology pipeline, with each product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and representing a unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OncoGenex and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) have entered a global collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize OncoGenex’ lead drug candidate, custirsen. Custirsen is currently in Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and in patients with advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer. OGX-427 is in Phase 2 clinical development and OGX-225 is currently in pre-clinical development. More information is available at www.OncoGenex.com.
SOURCE: OncoGenex
Post Views: 245
