AstraZeneca announces phase II trials for new melanoma drug

AstraZeneca has revealed plans of a new phase II trial for its AZD6244 (ARRY-142886) drug for the treatment of malignant melanomas.

The trial will enrol around 180 patients in centres across the globe and will compare the efficacy of AZD6244 with respect to temozolomide in the treatment of stage III and stage IV melanomas.

AZD6244 demonstrated its abilities as a selective MEK inhibitor in phase I of the study. It also exhibited its properties to inhibit MEK-associated downmarkers in “well-tolerated” doses, according to AstraZeneca.

The drug is orally active and blocks transduction pathways, hence preventing cancer cell growth and survival. It has also shown characteristics for suppressing tumours in several forms of human cancers, such as pancreactic, colon and breast cancers.

Kevin Koch, president of Array BioPharma, which conducted phase I of the trial, is confident of the drug’s performance in the trials. He said “We believe that AZD6244 holds great promise for cancer patients and we look forward to the initiation of the Phase II trials.”

“We’re pleased to be working with AstraZeneca’s experienced oncology team and we’re excited about their strong commitment to bringing this novel treatment to people with cancer,” he added.

AstraZeneca recently announced proposals to reinforce its product pipeline, which will address the concerns of investors following the withdrawal of certain development companies.

The company suggested that recent “strong performance” will be helped by increasing sales performances, with five new products planned for phase III development and more than 30 compounds in phase I and II trials.

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