Pharmaceutical Business review

ArQule initiates phase I cancer trial

ArQule also updated progress in its other clinical programs. These include three phase II trials with the first-generation E2F-1 compound, ARQ 501, as monotherapy in leiomyosarcoma and head and neck cancer, and as combination therapy with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer, as well as a phase I trial with ARQ 197, a small molecule inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase. Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has an option to ArQule's E2F-1 program in the field of cancer therapy.

The primary objective of the phase I trial is to determine the safety, tolerability and maximum tolerated dose of ARQ 171. Secondary objectives are to determine the pharmacokinetic profile and to assess the preliminary anti-tumor activity of the compound.