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Chairman of Canopus BioPharma, Dr. Patrick Prendergast, stated, "We atCanopus are encouraged with the discovery of this new use for CB1400 toincrease efficacy and reduce toxicity issues associated with conventionalchemotherapeutic agents."
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CB1400, a former schistosomal drug, is currently in phase II clinicaldevelopment as an anti-mucositis preventative agent in patients receivingradio- and/or chemotherapy treatment. Current anti-mucositis drugs have showntumor-protective properties. For this reason CB1400 was evaluated by Canopusto determine its effect on tumor growth.
In work carried out by the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, onbehalf of Canopus BioPharma, it was confirmed that CB1400 as a single agentsignificantly reduces tumor growth. In an initial study, tumor growth wasinhibited by 48.8% in mice treated with cisplatin, the most commonly usedchemotherapy drug. CB1400 alone showed 62.3% tumor growth inhibition whilethe combination of both compounds further increased inhibition to 69.6%, thusconfirming a synergistic effect between cisplatin and CB1400. In addition,there was no evidence of toxicity based on observations of survival andweight change in the mice and there was no evidence that CB1400 protected thetumor.
Cisplatin is a platinum-containing chemotherapeutic drug, administered byIV injection which has been used for more than 30 years to treat variousforms of cancer. Enhanced efficacy with CB1400 may prevent the development ofdrug resistance that is common with cisplatin.
In a similar study, tumor growth was inhibited by 61% in mice treatedwith cetuximab (Erbitux) alone. An almost 30% increase in efficacy wasobserved with the addition of CB1400 to cetuximab, increasing tumorinhibition to 89.4%, confirming a synergistic effect of combining the twoanti-tumor drugs. Similar to the cisplatin study, there was no significantdifference in mean weight or survival between the groups of mice; and notoxicity was observed in this study.
Cetuximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody, an epidermal growth factorreceptor inhibitor used as a chemotherapeutic agent, administered by IVinjection for the treatment of various cancers. Enhancing the efficacy ofcetuximab may have potential in treating patients no longer responding totraditional chemotherapy.
About Canopus BioPharma, Inc.:
Canopus BioPharma, Inc. (OTCBB: CBIA) is dedicated to providing thesafest, most cost effective and efficacious pharmaceutical products and assaymethods in the areas of infectious disease, radiation protection, cancer, andaddiction. With innovative science, proven research and developmentleadership, and superior products and compounds, Canopus BioPharma has, since2001, been committed to becoming a market trend setter in a new era ofhealthcare. In addition, the Company is a world leader in the development ofnovel camelid antibody products to provide unique avenues of progress andimprovement in assay methods and monitoring capabilities for physicians,patients and researchers, initially for food chain protection applications.Canopus maintains staff in Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Panama and theUSA. Additional information on the Company is available athttp://www.canopusbiopharma.com.
SOURCE Canopus BioPharma, Inc.