GroPep cans ulcer treatment after Phase II

Adelaide biotech GroPep (ASX:GRO) has yanked its potential topical treatment for chronic venous ulcers after inconclusive results from a Phase II clinical trial.

Despite the "disappointing" result from the trial of its wound-healing candidate PV702 -- venous ulcers are notoriously intractable to conventional treatments -- GroPep is looking for a partner to explore other wound-healing applications for its whey-derived cocktails of growth factors.

The company said its randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II trial, involving 106 patients with chronic venous ulcers at 10 sites across Australia, failed to confirm early indications of improved wound healing.

If it can find a partner, GroPep now plans to explore the efficacy of another growth-factor cocktail, PV701, as a treatment for oral mucositis. The company completed a successful Phase Ib clinical trial of PV701 in February last year.

Oral mucositis is a common side-effect of chemotherapy -- powerful cell-killing drugs that target rapidly dividing cancer cells also destroy the fast-growing cells forming the 'throwaway' lining of the oral cavity, causing painful lesions.

GroPep MD Bob Finder said the result was not a major setback -- the company expects to remain in profit, and cash flow positive, for the full 2003-04 financial year.

In December, GroPep licensed the rights to manufacture and sell non-pharmaceutical applications of its whey-derived cell-growth extracts to Netherlands-based multinational Campina. It cross-licensed several similar products from Campina in the same deal.