SEATTLE, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics (CTI) (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) announced today that researchers from the Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute presented new preclinical research identifying unique anti-tumor mechanisms of brostallicin that sets this agent apart from other currently used chemotherapy agents. CTI acquired worldwide rights to brostallicin when it acquired privately-held Systems Medicine LLC in 2007. Published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapy (Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(7) July 2009; 1985-94), the researchers utilized preclinical studies to provide clues into tumor susceptibility mechanisms for brostallicin, a synthetic DNA minor grove binder, and to identify differences between brostallicin and trabectedin (Yondelis®; ET-743), which is a natural marine product approved in Europe. Unlike other chemotherapy agents, including trabectedin, the NCI research indicates that the tumor cell DNA damaging effects of brostallicin are enhanced by high tumor glutathione levels, a hallmark of drug-resistant tumors. Brostallicin was shown to affect DNA in both dividing and quiescent cells. Its actions can be followed by induction of a specific DNA binding protein foci that can be detected in circulating blood cells. Importantly, brostallicin was active in a trabectedin-resistant cell line.
