Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEPH), today reported preliminary results of its ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial with Apoptone® (HE3235) for hormone-resistant prostate cancer (also called castrate-resistant prostate cancer or CRPC). Presented at the Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Conference, which is co-sponsored by the AACR, NCI and EORTC, the poster is titled: "Results of preclinical and clinical Phase I/II open-label dose-ranging trial with HE3235, a synthetic adrenal hormone, in Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC)." Apoptone (HE3235), a novel steroid that is an analog of a dihydrotestosterone metabolic pathway member, stimulates cell death (apoptosis) in hormone-dependent prostate tumors. Presenting the data is the lead investigator of the study, R. Bruce Montgomery, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine. The poster also included supportive preclinical data.
The interim results of the Phase I/II study, which is being conducted with participating member sites of the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Consortium (PCCTC), demonstrated that 47% of subjects who were radiographically evaluable for response had stable disease. With the assessment of progression every 56 days, the median time to progression was 107 days. Forty-three percent of the biochemically evaluable subjects experienced a drop in PSA during treatment, with 33% equal to or greater than a 50% decline.