SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN) today announced that results from Interleukin 21 (IL-21) studies will be presented or published at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2008 annual meeting. Renal cell cancer is the lead indication for IL-21, and previously, ZymoGenetics presented interim results from a Phase 1 trial combining IL-21 with Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets. Additional data from Phase 1 published in the ASCO proceedings confirm that the combination is well-tolerated and shows anti-tumor activity. ZymoGenetics also reported positive results from the cohort expansion portion of a Phase 1 study with IL-21 and Rituxan® in relapsed/refractory indolent lymphoma. Results from the dose escalation portion of this study were previously reported at the American Society of Hematology Meeting (ASH) 2007. In the second part of this study, the combination was well tolerated and resulted in one confirmed response and one unconfirmed complete response in patients. In addition, two IL-21 abstracts submitted by Novo Nordisk reported signs of clinical activity in a Phase 2 trial in metastatic melanoma and demonstrated that IL-21 can be given subcutaneously.
