Cancer :: Amplimexon – anti cancer drug by AmpliMed

Anti-cancer drug developer AmpliMed Corp. announced a clinical benefit rate of 44.4 percent for its lead drug candidate Amplimexon.

When used in combination with the drug Dacarbazine in patients with advanced malignant melanoma, Amplimexon can make a significant difference in patient survival without compromising quality of life, said Dr. Jeffrey S. Weber of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

He presented the interim results at a poster session at the Congress of Perspectives on Melanoma X and the Third International Melanoma Research Congress in The Netherlands.

Tucson-based AmpliMed is focused on the development of small-molecule oncology drugs with novel mechanisms of action.

Amplimexon? is a small molecule belonging to a class of compounds known as cyanoaziridines. AmpliMed’s? founding scientists, based at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, Arizona, discovered the potential for Amplimexon as a cancer therapy and carried out extensive studies to determine the mechanisms by which it killed certain types of cancer cells. This led to the conduct of numerous preclinical studies in order to select the best type of cancer to target in initial clinical studies, and AmpliMed obtained orphan drug designation both in the United States and Europe for Amplimexon for several key indications. In 2003, this work culminated in the FDA allowing an IND for Amplimexon, enabling AmpliMed to initiate a series of clinical studies to further explore the safety and efficacy of this exciting new drug.


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