MedImmune and Infinity demonstrate tolerance of new protein inhibitor

Infinity Pharmaceuticals and MedImmune have released preliminary results for an ongoing Phase I clinical trial of the companies’ lead heat shock protein 90 inhibitor IPI-504.

The results, presented at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in San Francisco, were drawn from the trial investigating the protein inhibitor in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Seven of the nine patients receiving IPI-504 achieved disease stabilisation over at least one cycle of administration while all four patients who undertook positron emission tomography imaging exhibited a reduction in tumour metabolic activity.

Lecia V Sequist, from the haematology and oncology division at Massachusetts General Hospital, confirmed that the data showed IPI-504 to be “well-tolerated” and displayed promising signs of biological activity.

She added: “The Phase 2 portion of the trial will further explore this activity at a higher dose level in an effort to establish a new therapeutic option for patients who have this aggressive disease.”

The conference also witnessed data showing IPI-504 to boost preclinical activity in both Herceptin-sensitive and refractory Her-2 positive breast cancer cell lines.

Earlier this month, MedImmune presented data from six abstracts demonstrating the company’s work in tackling influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in children.