FDA removes partial clinical hold on Cell Therapeutics' Tosedostat aminopeptidase inhibitor

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (NASDAQ and MTA: CTIC) today announced that it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the partial clinical hold on tosedostat (IND 075503) has been removed and all studies underway may continue. Tosedostat is a first-in-class selective inhibitor of aminopeptidases, which are required by tumor cells to provide amino acids necessary for growth and tumor cell survival, and is under development for the treatment of blood-related cancers. Tosedostat is currently being studied in the United States and European Union in investigator-sponsored and cooperative group-sponsored Phase 2 trials in elderly patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

"We are pleased that the FDA has responded favorably to the tosedostat clinical trial data provided and removed the partial clinical hold to allow further development of tosedostat in ongoing and future studies," said John Pagel, MD, PhD, Associate Member, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Associate Professor, Medical Oncology Division, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Principal Investigator in the tosedostat first-line AML/MDS trial.