Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Doses First Patient in Phase II Clinical Trial of Bavituximab in Patients With Advanced Bre...( TUSTIN Calif. Feb. 12 /- Peregrin...)

TUSTIN, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), today announced that patient dosing has begun in its clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bavituximab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. The primary objective of the study is to assess the overall response rate to the combination of bavituximab with docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug commonly used in breast cancer. The multicenter clinical trial is being conducted in the Republic of Georgia.

"We are now seeing good overall momentum in our bavituximab Phase II cancer program, and we are very pleased that our clinical colleagues in Europe have been so efficient in rapidly moving from protocol approval to trial initiation to patient dosing," said Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. "We are optimistic that all three bavituximab Phase II cancer trials will proceed well in the coming months and we look forward to reporting on our progress later this year."

In the trial's two-stage design, up to 15 patients with advanced breast cancer will be enrolled initially. The study will then be expanded up to a total of 46 patients if promising results are observed. Secondary objectives include measuring time to tumor progression, duration of response, overall patient survival and safety parameters. Patients may continue to receive bavituximab alone after completion of chemotherapy as long as the cancer does not progress and side effects are acceptable.

"Bavituximab represents a novel strategy for the treatment of cancer that has
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