Elesclomol Study Shows Significant Improvement in Progression-Free Survival for Chemotherapy-Naive Patients With Metastati...(Lawson M.D. EmoryUniversity School of Me...),Health

Data for patients on the elesclomol and paclitaxel arm who had one prior chemotherapy showed a trend toward results similar to patients who had received no prior chemotherapy; however these data were not statistically significant. Specifically, after receiving one prior chemotherapy, the median PFS was 2.8 months for patients receiving elesclomol and paclitaxel (n=29) versus 1.8 months for patients on paclitaxel alone (n=20; p=0.552), and OS was 9.0 months for patients on elesclomol and paclitaxel versus 7.8 months for patients on paclitaxel alone.(1)

Regardless of prior chemotherapy, the most common adverse events in the elesclomol plus paclitaxel group included fatigue, alopecia, constipation, nausea, hypoaesthesia, arthralgia, insomnia, diarrhea and anemia. The most serious adverse events (Grade 3 or higher) for the combination arm were similar to those seen in the paclitaxel-only arm and included neutropenia, back pain, fatigue and neuropathy.(1)

About Elesclomol

Elesclomol is a novel, injectable, investigational drug candidate that triggers apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells. Cancer cells operate at high levels of reactive oxygen species, or oxidative stress. Elesclomol is believed to act by increasing the level of oxidative stress in cancer cells even further, beyond sustainable levels, inducing apoptosis. This mechanism of action, called oxidative stress induction, represents a novel way of selectively targeting and killing cancer cells.

Elesclomol is being developed under a global collaboration agreement between Synta Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline.

Ongoing Clinical Trials

GlaxoSmithKline and Synta Pharmaceuticals are currently studying elesclomol in a global, pivotal Phase III trial called SYMMETRY(SM). The SYMMETRY study is being con
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