Firm admits cost-cutting measures will be made.

Antisoma is canning further development of its DNA intercalator candidate AS1413 after a Phase III study in patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) failed to meet its primary endpoint. Furthermore, early data from a Phase IIb study evaluating Antisoma’s aptamer candidate AS1411 in AML have suggested this trial will be inclusive. The firm said it will also shut this study down and is looking for other approaches to development of the drug.

AS1413 was being evaluated in a 420-patient trial called Accede, whic compared a regimen of AS1413 plus cytarabine with treatment using standard induction chemotherapy of daunorubicin plus cytarabine. Antisoma called the results “hugely disappointing”, and said it will also now have to implement significant cost-cutting measures and be “smaller”, according to Glyn Edwards, CEO. Antisoma had cash resources of some £23.4 million at the end of December 2010.

The remaining Antisoma pipeline comprises its DCAM (dendritic cell autoimmune modulator) program of small molecule kinase inhibitors for autoimmune diseases and its anticancer PPMID inhibitor program, which is under development through a collaboration and licensing agreement with the Institute of Cancer Research.  

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