POSITIVE RESULTS FOR STUDY OF COMBRETASTATIN (CA4P) WITH PACLITAXEL AND CARBOPLATIN

OXiGENE Dec. 27 announced it has completed a Phase II Study in patients with advanced imageable malignancies. This was a randomized open-label study of intravenous CA4P administered at 45 or 63 mg/m(2) followed by paclitaxel and carboplatin in 13 patients.

The objectives of the trial were to identify optimal dose of CA4P for blood flow shutdown and to demonstrate safety and efficacy of CA4P in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin. All patient data have been collected and analyzed, with the exception of one patient who is still continuing in the optional extension phase of the protocol due to continued good clinical response.

Topline data from the study indicate that the objectives of the study were met. The imaging confirmed blood flow shutdown in a wide variety of advanced imageable malignancies, safety is in line with expectations and tumor responses were seen in multiple patients.

Combretastatin A-4 Phosphate (CA4P) is a novel anti-cancer agent that has displayed potent and selective toxicity towards tumor vasculature in clinical studies to date. OXiGENE's strategy for optimizing the antitumor activity of CA4P is to combine it with cytotoxic agents. The rationale for combining CA4P with other cytotoxic regimens stems from the hypothesis that agents with different and potentially complimentary mechanisms of action and with a non-overlapping toxicity profile may achieve synergistic antitumor activity when administered concurrently. CA4P has been shown to enhance and the anti-tumor effects of several chemotherapeutic agents and radiation in animal studies.