The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of CB7630 administered daily to patients with chemotherapy-naive hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) with a rising PSA (prostate specific antigen) despite hormonal therapy.
The trial is being conducted at The Institute of Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden Hospital in the UK. In a previous phase I study, also conducted at the hospital, CB7630 was shown to inhibit testosterone generation in patients with HRPC and to be generally safe and well tolerated.
“Inhibition of 17alpha-hydroxylase/C1720 lyase represents a promising new approach to the treatment of HRPC. As patients with HRPC have very limited treatment alternatives, CB7630 could represent an important second line therapy for patients with advanced prostate cancer who fail first-line hormonal treatment,” said Dr Arie Belldegrun, vice chairman of the board of directors of Cougar Biotechnology.