Morphotek announces preliminary data from Phase II trial of farletuzumab

Morphotek(R), Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Corporation of North America, today announced preliminary data from a Phase II trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of farletuzumab in platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer subjects experiencing their first relapse. Farletuzumab (MORAb-003) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the Folate Receptor Alpha (FRA).

These data were presented today at the joint 15th( )Congress of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) and the 34th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) by Deborah Armstrong, M.D., Associate Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and a farletuzumab study investigator.

Preliminary data from the study indicate that farletuzumab, in combination with standard platinum and taxane chemotherapy, shrank or eliminated the tumor in 69.8% of subjects; in addition, 23% of the subjects had their tumor stabilized. The results of the study also showed that in more than 20% of subjects the second progression-free interval was as long as or longer than the first.

The most common drug-related adverse events observed in this study were fever and chills related to infusion, which tended to be mild. No significant increase in severe adverse events above those expected with chemotherapy alone was reported during combination therapy.

"The rate of relapse of ovarian cancer is high, and over time standard chemotherapeutic agents become ineffective in treating relapsed ovarian cancer patients," said Martin D. Phillips, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Morphotek. "We are excited about these new data and look forward to seeing results from our ongoing global Phase III trial testing farletuzumab in combination with platinum and taxane in platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer."

"The results of this Phase II study presented today support our commitment to continue to develop farletuzumab for ovarian cancer," said Nicholas C. Nicolaides, Ph.D., President and CEO of Morphotek. "Our research with farletuzumab is consistent with our human health care (hhc) mission - addressing unmet medical needs by developing new treatment options that will improve the lives of patients."

Source: http://www.morphotek.com