NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZIOP), a biopharmaceutical company with small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to new cancer therapies, announced today that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) has unanimously recommended continuation of the international, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial (PICASSO 3) of palifosfamide (Zymafos® or ZIO-201) in front-line metastatic soft tissue sarcoma. The IDMC reviewed all available study data and determined that the trial should continue as designed and conducted, which is the third such review and recommendation by the committee. Targeted completion of enrollment for PICASSO 3 is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2012. The outcome in progression-free survival, the study’s primary endpoint for accelerated approval, is anticipated in the second half of 2012.
