Clinical data of Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s novel and proprietary cancer biomarker were presented at the Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics meeting currently being held in Prague, Czech Republic.
The presentation will illustrate an in vitro assay that reliably predicts the response to imatinib (Gleevec®, or Glivec, in Europe) prior to initiation of therapy in patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) – Panacea’s TK Sense (SM).
This assay measures gene expression of Human aspartyl (asparaginyl) Beta-hydroxylase (HAAH).
Measuring levels of expression of the HAAH gene following exposure of the patient's leukocytes to imatinib using this simple and sensitive assay is an indicator of likely response to imatinib.
The said assay may also prove useful in screening new drug candidates against CML and other cancers targeted by tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib.
According to Stephen Keith, MD, MSPH, President and Chief Operating Officer of Panacea Pharmaceutical:
Find more details from the press release.
"Reliable prediction of patients with CML who will or will not respond to imatinib may hasten initiation of optimal therapy and potentially improve outcomes.
Further, identification of patients unlikely to respond to imatinib is important from a cost perspective; annual costs for imatinib have been estimated between $30,000 and $50,000.
And most importantly, significant cardiac toxicity has been observed in patients receiving imatinib, including symptoms of congestive heart failure in more than 50 percent.
Patients unlikely to respond to imatinib should not be exposed to the risk of these serious cardiac complications."
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