Poniard Announces Positive Incremental Efficacy and Safety Data From Ongoing Phase 2 Picoplatin Trial in Hormone-Refractory Prost...( - Updated Results Presented at...)

- Updated Results Presented at 20th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium -

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and GENEVA, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PARD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, today announced positive incremental data from its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of picoplatin in combination with docetaxel and prednisone as first-line therapy for metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). The expanded and updated results continued to show that picoplatin can be safely administered with full-dose docetaxel and prednisone, the standard treatment for HRPC, with no neurotoxicity observed. In addition, reductions of prostate specific antigen levels (PSA) of at least 50 percent were achieved in 78 percent of evaluable patients. Normalized PSA levels were achieved in 26 percent of patients.

"These data are very encouraging as they suggest that picoplatin can be safely administered with full doses of docetaxel as first-line therapy in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer," said E. David Crawford, M.D., professor of surgery and radiation oncology, and head of the Section of Urologic Oncology at the University of Colorado Denver and associate director of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center in Denver. Dr. Crawford also is a member of Poniard's Clinical Advisory Board. "I believe these early Phase 2 results may potentially support a Phase 3 trial. A therapy with an improved safety and efficacy profile would be important for patients with advanced prostate cancer, who have a very poor prognosis and few effective treatment options."

The data were presented in a poster session (abstract # 211/poster #211) during the 20th EORTC-NCI-AACR
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