Patrys (ASX: PAB) has reported further preclinical data that strongly supports the ongoing clinical development of the company’s lead anti-cancer drug, PAT-SM6, in the treatment of blood cancer, multiple myeloma.
PAT-SMS has shown that it works in synergy with already marketed multiple myeloma drugs, an important factor in designing future clinical trials in which PAT-SM6 will be tested with other multiple myeloma drugs.
The majority of cancer patients, treated with chemotherapy, usually receive various combinations of different drugs throughout the course of their illness.
These combinations are designed to include drugs with different mechanisms-of-action and, ideally, the drugs work together synergistically to enhance each other’s anti-tumour effects.
Using a variety of well-established multiple myeloma cell lines, PAT-SM6 was tested either alone (monotherapy) or in double or triple combinations with leading multiple myeloma therapies, Revlimid (Lenalidomide), Velcade (Bortezomib) or Dexamethasone.
All of the double combinations tested showed a significant synergistic effect on the growth of the multiple myeloma cells, compared to PAT-SM6 alone. The combination of PAT-SM6 plus Revlimid was the most effective.
All triple drug combinations tested were highly synergistic, with PAT-SM6 plus Revlimid plus Dexamethasone being the most effective at inhibiting the growth of the multiple myeloma cells.
This data shows, for the first time, that PAT-SM6 works in combination with already marketed multiple myeloma drugs, and the double or triple combinations work significantly better than when the drugs are used as monotherapies.
When used as a monotherapy, PAT-SM6 was also shown to be highly effective in a mouse model of multiple myeloma. The 5T33 mouse model was chosen as it closely mimics human disease.
In this model, mice with established multiple myeloma were treated with six to eight doses of PAT-SM6 over a three to four week period.
Compared to the control mice, those treated with >10mg/kg of PAT-SM6 showed a statistically significant reduction in both tumour load (up to 54%) and serum paraprotein levels (up to 48%).
Importantly, there was no toxicity observed in the PAT-SM6 treated mice.
Patrys is currently undertaking a phase I/IIa clinical trial of PAT-SM6 in patients with refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma at the University Hospital of Wurzburg, Germany.
The second cohort of patients is currently being recruited into the study.
Patrys remains well-funded with around $6.1 million in cash at the end of December 2012.
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