Esperance Pharmaceuticals Presents Poster at AACR Annual Meeting Demonstrating Synergy of Lead Candidate EP-100 with Paclitaxel in In Vitro Studies
-- Phase 1 clinical trial of EP-100 in solid tumors recently
completed --
BATON ROUGE, La., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Drug discovery and
development company Esperance Pharmaceuticals presented results
from in vitro studies demonstrating synergy of EP-100 in
combination with paclitaxel for the potential treatment of
luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH)-receptor positive and
multi-drug resistant cancers, including ovarian cancer, at the
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in
Chicago. Results have supported the initiation of a Phase 2 trial
of EP-100 in combination with paclitaxel in patients with ovarian
cancer. A second poster at AACR detailed in vitro results
suggesting that EP-100 may have potential utility in treatment of
non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, including relapsed and refractory disease.
EP-100 is a targeted membrane-disrupting peptide coupled to LHRH
and is designed to bind selectively to LHRH receptors which are
overexpressed in a wide range of cancers. Results of the first
clinical testing of EP-100 in a recently completed Phase 1 study in
advanced solid tumors will be presented at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in June.
"EP-100 continues to demonstrate potential for broad utility as both a monotherapy and in combination with a wide range of therapeutics for difficult-to-treat cancers," said Dr. Hector Alila, CEO of Esperance. "Importantly, the clear synergy observed in combination with paclitaxel directly supports our plans for a Phase 2 clinical trial of EP-100 in combination with paclitaxel in ovarian cancer."
"In addition to showing synergy with paclitaxel in multiple cancers, EP-100 has shown potential synergy in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin or vincristine in multi-drug resistant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," added Carola Leuschner, PhD, Senior Director of Biology for Esperance and lead author of the study. "These studies provide the rationale for combination studies of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with EP-100."
Study Results
Poster #3715 "EP-100 Synergizes with Paclitaxel in Ovarian,
Breast and Prostate Cancer Cell Lines"
In vitro studies were conducted to determine the effects of
paclitaxel and EP-100 in multi-drug resistant LHRH receptor
positive ovarian, breast, uterine sarcoma and prostate cancer cells
and LHRH receptor negative ovarian cancer cells. Cells were
cultured in the presence of EP-100 or paclitaxel alone or in
combination and incubated for 48 to 72 hours in non-constant and
constant ratio formats. EP-100 in combination with paclitaxel was
highly synergistic in all cancer cell lines that were positive for
LHRH receptors and potency was increased up to 5,000 fold in some
cases compared to single-agent paclitaxel. Specifically, EP-100
alone killed LHRH receptor positive ovarian cancer and breast
cancer cells, while both cell lines showed resistance to
paclitaxel. The greatest synergy was observed in multi-drug
resistant uterine sarcoma endometrial cells. As expected, no
synergy was observed in the LHRH receptor negative cell line. These
results provide further rationale for the continued study of EP-100
with paclitaxel for the potential treatment of LHRH receptor
positive ovarian, breast, prostate and other LHRH-receptor positive
cancers.
Poster #2829 "Activity of EP-100 in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
– Synergy in Combination"
In vitro studies were conducted to demonstrate that non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma (NHL) cell lines could be targeted and killed by
EP-100. Ex vivo studies showed that EP-100 specifically
killed NHL patient cells from refractory/relapsed NHL patients
without killing normal cells and unconjugated CLIP-71 was
ineffective. Combination of doxorubicin and EP-100 was synergistic
after 72 hour incubation and study results suggest that EP-100
sensitizes doxorubicin-resistant cancer cells expressing LHRH
resulting in potentiation of cell killing in a synergistic
manner.
About Esperance Pharmaceuticals
Esperance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage company
developing a new class of targeted anticancer drugs using its
Cationic Lytic Peptide (CLYP™) platform technology. These
drug candidates, called targeted membrane-disrupting peptides
(tMDPs) and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) selectively seek and
destroy cancer cells, including cells known to be resistant to
chemotherapeutic drugs, without harming normal cells. Targeting
occurs through binding to specific receptors and antigens on the
cell's surface. The Company was founded on patented technology
discovered by scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research
Center, the Louisiana State (LSU) Ag Center and LSU main campus.
Founding investors include the Louisiana Fund I, Themelios Ventures
and Research Corporation Technologies. Additional investors include
Sanofi, Advantage Capital Partners, Louisiana Technology Fund and
private investors. More information can be found at www.esperancepharma.com.
SOURCE Esperance Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Posted: April 2012
