Chemgenex acquires platinum drug

Chemgenex Pharmaceuticals (ASX: CXS) has acquired a novel anti-cancer drug from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The drug, CXS299, a platinum (IV) agent with activity against cancer cells expressing wild-type p53 developed by Anderson researchers Zahid Siddik and Abdul Khokhar, is in late pre-clinical development, and Chemgenex CEO Greg Collier said it should be ready for clinical trials in 2006.

"To build our company to the next level, we wanted to add something to the pipeline, something that would come along quickly," he said. "We aim to complete preclinical studies with CXS299 and anticipate moving into Phase I trials in 2006 -- it is ideal timing to follow our other compounds into trials."

Existing platinum drugs -- known as platinum (II) drugs and including cisplatin and other compounds -- are widely used in chemotherapy, with sales of $1.7 billion annually. But while the drugs are powerful, around 50 per cent of patients develop resistance to the drug.

CXS299 is a new class of platinum drug with a novel structure, Collier said, and shows activity against platinum-drug resistant cancers.

Another attraction for Chemgenex has been the unravelling of the mechanism of the drug, which shows enhanced activity in tumour cells expressing the wild-type p53 gene, and raises the possibility of screening patients for the presence of the wild-type gene prior to treatment.

"This gives us another opportunity to get into genetically targeted medicines," Collier said.

Collier said the opportunity to in-license the drug came through the company's existing relationship with the MD Anderson Center, which is performing the company's Ceflatonin clinical trials.

"This is a nice addition to our clinical pipeline -- it gives us depth that other companies may not have," he said.