Human Genome Sciences Initiates Second Randomized Phase 2 Trial of HGS-ETR1 in Combination With Ch...( ROCKVILLE Md. Dec. 20 /- Human Ge...)

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced today that it has initiated dosing of patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of HGS-ETR1 (mapatumumab) in combination with the chemotherapy agents paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

"The majority of patients who are newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer have locally advanced or metastatic disease that is currently incurable," said Philip D. Bonomi, M.D., a principal investigator in the study, and Section Director, Medical Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. "Fewer than half of these patients are candidates for surgery. There is an urgent medical need for effective treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer because current treatment strategies have only a minimal impact on survival. We look forward to evaluating the potential of HGS-ETR1 plus chemotherapy to offer a new approach to the first-line treatment of this deadly disease."

HGS-ETR1 is a human monoclonal antibody to TRAIL receptor 1, a protein involved in programmed cell death (apoptosis). The first randomized Phase 2 trial of HGS-ETR1 is currently underway in combination with bortezomib (Velcade) in patients with advanced multiple myeloma. HGS expects to have data available from the multiple myeloma study by mid-2008. In a separate press release issued earlier today, HGS and Aegera Therapeutics Inc. announced that HGS has acquired exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Japan) to develop and commercialize AEG40826, a potent small-molecule inhibitor of multiple proteins in the IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis) family that is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical trials for the treat
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