Proacta Inc. Announces Phase I Clinical Trial Of Novel Prodrug To Target Hypoxic Tumors; Series A Funding To $12 Million

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2006--Proacta Inc, an early stage biotechnology company, announced today that cancer patient treatment is underway in its Phase I study of PR-104, a hypoxia targeted small molecule prodrug designed to improve the outcomes of current treatment regimens that can include chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Tumor hypoxia, a condition which exists in the majority of solid tumors, can make treatment with conventional chemotherapy and radiation less likely to succeed. PR-104 is designed to be activated in the low oxygen environment of hypoxic tumors. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that PR-104 is not only activated, resulting in the death of the hypoxic tumor cells, but also distributes to surrounding tumor cells which are also killed. This "bystander effect" may differentiate PR-104 in targeting solid tumor hypoxia and offers the potential promise of improving current cancer treatments. The study is being conducted at the Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand and at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. A third, U.S. based, site will be added to the trial in the coming months.

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