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news.Poniard Pharmaceuticals has announced final efficacy results from its Phase II clinical trial of picoplatin, which confirms a survival benefit in patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer who have failed prior platinum-containing first-line chemotherapy or who have progressed within six months of first-line therapy.
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The median overall survival rate was 27 weeks and both this efficacy and the safety profile compares favorably with current medical treatments which often include palliative best supportive care. Best supportive care has been shown previously to have a median overall survival of 14 weeks and is the comparator arm for the ongoing randomized Phase III trial to evaluate picoplatin treatment in this patient setting.
Robert De Jager, chief medical officer of Poniard, said: “These final Phase II data show that picoplatin extended survival in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) refractory to, or relapsing within six months of first-line platinum based chemotherapy. Based on promising results from this trial, we initiated our ongoing Phase III Spear trial in small cell lung cancer. We are targeting commercialization of picoplatin for use in SCLC in 2010. We are committed to developing picoplatin as a new generation chemotherapy agent addressing multiple indications, combinations and formulations.”