Lilly enters Phase III for oral cancer agent

Eli Lilly has announced it is to start Phase III of its research into enzastaurin – an investigational, multi-targeted, oral cancer agent.

This new stage of the research process will examine enzastaurin’s ability to treat patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), which is a highly common form of cancer that attacks the lymphatic system.

The drug trials will specifically evaluate enzastaurin’s performance as a maintenance therapy drug for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). DLBCL is the most widespread form of NHL and is often prone to remission, prompting the need for effective drugs to prevent relapse.

Richard Gaynor, vice president and global oncology platform leader for Eli Lilly, commented: “The incidence of NHL has been increasing rapidly over the past 25 years.

“In recent years, there has been much progress in developing therapies that get more patients into remission. However, our objective with enzastaurin is to develop an agent with the ability to keep NHL patients in remission.”

NHL is a heterogeneous disease affecting over 9,400 people each year in the UK alone and hence accounting for three per cent of all cancers diagnosed.

Patients with weakened immune systems or those who have had a history of cancer treatment in the past are held as most likely to develop NHL.

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