Progen Pharmaceuticals inks licence deal for cancer drug Friday, December 28, 2012 by Proactive Investors Progen Pharmaceuticals (ASX:PGL) has entered into a binding term sheet for a licence with Taiwan's Medigen Biotech to develop and commercialise Progen's PG545 to prevent and treat Hepatocellular Carcinoma and non-oncology indications globally. The drug candidate is a heparin sulphate mimetic used to inhibit growth factors and the enzyme heparanase a drug target currently implicated in tumour metastasis and angiogenesis, inflammation and diabetes. Both parties are still to execute a formal licence agreement, and Progen needs to get federal approval as the drug was developed under the Commercial Ready Program Grant. Medigen is listed on the Taiwanese exchange and is focused on developing new therapeutics for liver diseases and cancers. Progen's collaboration with Medigen goes far back with Progen having licenced the worldwide oncology rights of PI-88 to Medigen in 2010. Currently, Medigen is conducting a randomised, placebo controlled multinational Phase III PATRON trial designed to confirm the efficacy and safety of PI-88 in the adjuvant treatment of HCC. Progen will retain the rights for all other indications of PG545 and depending upon results from the pre-clinical toxicology study, it will seek to start Phase 1 clinical trial under a IV route next year. Progen Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company committed to the discovery, development and commercialisation of small molecule pharmaceuticals primarily for the treatment of cancer.
PG545, a dual heparanase and angiogenesis inhibitor, induces potent anti-tumour and anti-metastatic efficacy in preclinical models Br J Cancer. 2011 February 15; 104(4): 635–642. PG545 is a heparan sulfate (HS) mimetic that inhibits tumour angiogenesis by sequestering angiogenic growth factors in the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus limiting subsequent binding to receptors. Importantly, PG545 also inhibits heparanase, the only endoglycosidase which cleaves HS chains in the ECM. The aim of the study was to assess PG545 in various solid tumour and metastasis models.The anti-angiogenic, anti-tumour and anti-metastatic properties of PG545 were assessed using in vivo angiogenesis, solid tumour and metastasis models. Pharmacokinetic (PK) data were also generated in tumour-bearing mice to gain an understanding of optimal dosing schedules and regimens.PG545 was shown to inhibit angiogenesis in vivo and induce anti-tumour or anti-metastatic effects in murine models of breast, prostate, liver, lung, colon, head and neck cancers and melanoma. Enhanced anti-tumour activity was also noted when used in combination with sorafenib in a liver cancer model. PK data revealed that the half-life of PG545 was relatively long, with pharmacologically relevant concentrations of radiolabeled PG545 observed in liver tumours.PG545 is a new anti-angiogenic clinical candidate for cancer therapy. The anti-metastatic property of PG545, likely due to the inhibition of heparanase, may prove to be a critical attribute as the compound enters phase I clinical trials.
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