ARRAY BIOPHARMA REACHES PHASE II MILESTONE WITH CANCER DRUG
Array BioPharma announced that it received a $3 million payment from AstraZeneca for achieving a Phase II milestone for AZD6244. The payment was triggered upon dosing the first patient in the trial. AZD6244 is a selective MEK inhibitor that was in-licensed by AstraZeneca from Array.
The previously randomized study will compare AZD6244 to temozolomide in the treatment of Stage III / IV melanoma. AstraZeneca expects to enroll up to 180 patients at approximately 40 centers worldwide. Additional Phase II studies, studying a range of other cancers, are scheduled to start this year.
The Phase II study is based on the results of the Phase Ib trial that included patients with melanoma and a variety of other solid tumors. The Phase I study clearly demonstrated that AZD6244 inhibits MEK and associated downstream markers in tumors at doses deemed well-tolerated. The full results of this study will be published later in the year.
AstraZeneca acquired exclusive worldwide rights to AZD6244 and certain second-generation compounds for all oncology indications in 2003. Array retains the rights to all therapeutic indications outside of oncology for compounds not selected by AstraZeneca as part of the collaboration.
AZD6244 blocks signal transduction pathways implicated in cancer cell proliferation and survival. The drug has shown tumor suppressive activity in multiple preclinical models of human cancer including melanoma, pancreatic, colon, lung and breast cancers.
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