OxiGENE updates on Zybrestat evaluating Falcon trial

The updated data showed that the median time to progression for patients receiving Zybrestat plus bevacizumab and chemotherapy was 9.5 months, compared with a median time to progression of 8.8 months for patients receiving bevacizumab and chemotherapy alone.

Reportedly, of the patients in the study arm (Zybrestat combined with bevacizumab and carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy), 50% achieved a partial response, compared with the control arm (bevacizumab and chemotherapy) of the trial, where only 38% of patients achieved a partial response.

Additionally, the combination regimen including Zybrestat was observed to be well-tolerated with no significant cumulative toxicities when compared with the control arm of the study.

Principal investigator of the study Edward Garon said that the Falcon study interim data continues to be encouraging, suggesting that Zybrestat is a well-tolerated drug that has the potential to result in better patient outcomes than standard therapy.

"This updated data provides additional support for a possible registration study investigating Zybrestat as a treatment for patients with NSCLC," Garon said.

OxiGENE CEO Peter Langecker said that the results from the Falcon study continue to show that Zybrestat appears well-tolerated and suggest improved progression free survival and response rate in NSCLC patients.

"While these data must accrue for several more months before we can truly analyse the overall survival benefit to patients, we believe that the continued trends of the Falcon study, which come on the heels of our positive data from a study of patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer, shows that Zybrestat may hold promise as a future treatment for cancer patients," Langecker said.