Chemokine Therapeutics has entered into a material transfer agreement to supply Dana-Farber with CTCE-9908, a chemokine CXCR4 antagonist. Oncologists at the institute will study the benefits of CTCE-9908 in a series of preclinical studies, investigating the drug’s ability to inhibit the growth of a human brain cancer (glioblastoma) cells.
CTCE-9908 is an analog of stromal cell derived factors 1 (SDF-1), which blocks the biological activities of this chemokine. SDF-1 is involved in cancer angiogenesis and metastasis. In previous experimental studies, CTCE-9908 has been shown to reduce cancer metastases by a considerable 50-70%.
Further, research from Chemokine has demonstrated CTCE-9908 to be a potent anti-angiogenic molecule with potential in managing cancer growth and metastasis. The SDF-1 receptor is referred to as CXCR4. Leading cancer researchers have demonstrated that a high level of CXCR4 expression in cancer cells is correlated to tumor progression, high metastasis rate and low patient survival rate.
Chemokine has completed a phase I, dose-escalation clinical trial using CTCE-9908 in healthy volunteers, demonstrating the safety of the product. A phase Ib/II clinical trial that is designed to demonstrate safety as well as to explore early signs of efficacy after repeat administration of CTCE-9908 in a late stage cancer setting is planned to launch during the first quarter of this year.