( Worldwide pivotal phase III study in wo...)New Research Results Show That Investigational Drug Phenoxodiol,Targets Cancer Protein, Causing Cancer Cell Death,Health

SYDNEY, Australia and WASHINGTON, May 01, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new study further supports the unique mechanism of action of phenoxodiol, an investigational drug being studied for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The drug appears to work by targeting a certain tumor-specific protein, which triggers a series of events that selectively induce cancer cell death. Phenoxodiol is currently being studied in patients with resistant ovarian cancer, a disease that is estimated to kill more than 15,000 women this year in the U.S. alone.

In studies conducted thus far, phenoxodiol has exhibited an excellent safety profile, with few patients experiencing side effects attributed to the drug.

The new research was conducted by a team headed by Research Professor Michael Berridge Ph.D., at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research - New Zealand's leading medical research facility focused on finding cures for cancer and other diseases.

Findings from the study, to be presented at the New Zealand Society of Oncology meeting to be held May 9-11, help explain the mechanism by which phenoxodiol induces cancer cell death. This new research supports previous findings by Professor James Morre, Ph.D. at Purdue University, which showed that phenoxodiol interacts with the tumor-specific protein, tNOX, to selectively block cancerous cells from dividing by switching off a variety of pro-survival signaling mechanisms within the cancer cell, causing it to die.

In cases of late-stage ovarian cancer, standard chemotherapy drugs often have a limited duration of use. The cancer can progressively lose its sensitivity to chemotherapy until cancer cells become unresponsive causing resistance, a major barrier to successful cancer treatment. In laboratory studies and Phase II clinical trials, phenoxodiol showed promise in restoring d
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