Pharmacyclics Publishes Interim Data From Study of Xcytrin Plus Taxotere

Pharmacyclics has published interim data from a Phase I dose-escalation study of Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium) injection, the company's lead anticancer agent, in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel) for the treatment of patients with advanced refractory tumors.

The ongoing study has enrolled 13 patients of which 12 are evaluable for response at this time, including patients with metastatic cancer of the lung (nine), ovary (two), prostate (one) and breast (one). Six patients receiving Xcytrin and Taxotere have achieved a partial response including four of the nine patients suffering from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the breast cancer patient, who was previously treated with taxol, and the prostate cancer patient. Two additional NSCLC patients achieved stabilization of their tumors.

All of the patients in this study had failed one to five prior treatment regimens, which in three of the responding patients (two with NSCLC) included treatment with a member of the taxane family. Among the NSCLC patients whose tumors responded to the study treatment, the duration of response lasted for a median of 15 weeks.