Spectrum Pharmaceuticals begins Phase 2 clinical program for SPI-2012

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: SPPI), a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in hematology and oncology, today announced the Company has initiated a Phase 2 clinical program for SPI-2012 (also referred to as "LAPS-GCSF"), a drug candidate for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia that utilizes partner Hanmi Pharmaceutical Company's proprietary LAPSCOVERY™ Technology. This technology, as shown in preclinical models, permits greater marrow penetration and retention of G-CSF when compared to naked CSF and avoids elimination through kidney. In a previous Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers SPI-2012 showed increase in neutrophil count similar to Neulasta^® (pegfilgrastim) at one-third the dose.

“We are excited to begin mid-stage clinical studies for a drug candidate that can become a key component of Spectrum's long-term growth”

"We are excited to begin mid-stage clinical studies for a drug candidate that can become a key component of Spectrum's long-term growth," said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. "Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia constitutes a large global market estimated to be over $5 billion, and there is preliminary evidence showing SPI-2012 may have advantages over the comparator regarding the intensity and duration of neutrophil recovery. We look forward to the continued study of this product candidate, which we believe has the potential to address continued unmet medical needs by studying the opportunity to minimize the risks from chemotherapy induced neutropenia."

Spectrum's phase 2 trial is a multicenter, open label, dose-ranging study, with a non-inferiority design to compare the effectiveness of SPI-2012 relative to a fixed and standard dose of pegfilgrastim as a concurrent active control to each dose of SPI-2012. The primary objective and endpoint of this study is to assess the effect of test doses of SPI-2012 on the mean duration of severe neutropenia during Cycle 1 in patients with breast cancer who are candidates for adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

In January 2012, Spectrum entered into a co-development and commercialization agreement with Hanmi, gaining global rights for SPI-2012 (except Korea, China, and Japan). Hanmi's LAPSCOVERY™ (Long Acting Protein/Peptide Discovery) platform technology can be applied to various molecules including glycosylated proteins, modified or artificial peptides with unnatural amino acid sequences. LAPSCOVERY™ can select the optimal conjugation sites from the proteins or peptides to minimize the structural hindrance and maximize the pharmacological activity.