AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Preliminary Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Ovar...( are currently in preparation and will b...),Health

Juergen Engel, Ph.D., AEterna Zentaris President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are pleased with the progress of this project. The successful completion of the recruitment and treatment phase and the apparent activity in this difficult group of cancer patients is encouraging. This is the basis we were looking for, in order to take the next steps in the further development of AEZS-108 in gynaecological cancers and possibly also in prostate cancer."

About the AEZS-108 Phase 2 Program

AEZS-108 represents a new targeting concept in oncology using a cytotoxic peptide conjugate which is a hybrid molecule composed of a synthetic peptide carrier and a well-known cytotoxic agent, doxorubicin. The design of this product allows for the specific binding and selective uptake of the cytotoxic conjugate by LHRH-receptor-positive tumors. The binding of AEZS-108 to cancerous cells that express these receptors results in its accumulation and preferential uptake in the malignant tissue.

In a Phase 2 study program entitled, "The antitumoral activity and safety of AEZS-108 (AN-152), a LHRH agonist linked doxorubicin in women with LHRH-receptor positive gynaecological tumors", patients with tumors expressing LHRH receptors are administered an intravenous infusion of 267 mg/m2 of AEZS-108 over a period of 2 hours, every Day 1 of a 21-day (3-week) cycle. The proposed duration of the study treatment is 6, 3-week cycles. Study AGO-GYN-5 is performed with 14 centers of the German Gynaecological Oncology Working Group (AGO; www.ago-ovar.de), in cooperation with 3 clinical sites in Europe.

The program was planned to include up to 82 patients, up to 41 with a diagnosis of platinum-resistant and taxane-pretreated ovarian cancer, and up to 41 with disseminated endometrial cancer. For both indications, pati
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