RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2005--Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX) (AMEX:ADH), a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of oncology products under development, today announced its global development plans for the chemoenhancer eniluracil, which the Company in-licensed from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in July 2005. The Company expects to have eniluracil into Phase III trials by mid 2007.
Eniluracil is a drug designed to inhibit the breakdown of 5-FU, one of the world's most commonly used chemotherapies. Although 5-FU is a mainstay of contemporary cancer therapy, it has some therapeutic drawbacks, including that it must be given intravenously, it can cause severe and dose-limiting side effects, and it has variable blood and tissue levels which impact its anti-tumor activity and safety profile. In combination with eniluracil, 5-FU can become orally active, have fewer side effects, and more uniform and prolonged blood levels, thereby improving its effectiveness.
GSK's clinical development program for the combination of eniluracil and 5-FU met with success in early development. However, three Phase III trials undertaken by GSK failed and development was stopped. Since then, Adherex has generated data which provide a new understanding of the mechanism of action of eniluracil - namely, that eniluracil not only inhibits the breakdown of 5-FU, it also temporarily blocks the activation of 5-FU into the metabolites that are responsible for its anti-tumor activity. As a result, the Company has identified three factors that are necessary to optimize the combination of eniluracil and 5-FU: 1) the absolute dose of eniluracil, 2) the ratio between the eniluracil and 5-FU dosages, and 3) the schedule of administration of the two drugs.
