| Two new drugs
in early clinical trials may offer hope for people for whom Gleevec
has not worked.
BMS354825
This drug is a dual Bcr-Abl and Src kinase inhibitor and is
undergoing phase I studies in CML. This drug is manufactured by
Bristol-Myers Squibb.
The initial results are encouraging using escalating doses of BMS
in patients with CML resistant to imatinib mesylate (Gleevec). Most
patients treated so far in chronic phase have had excellent
hematologic responses and some cytogenetic responses have been
observed. Patients are so far reporting few side effects.
The study is now open for patients with CML in chronic,
accelerated and blastic phases and for patients with Ph-positive
ALL. Phase II trials are expected to begin in the next several
months. The BMS trial is available only in two U.S. centers: M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center and the University of California at Los
Angeles (UCLA). To be eligible for the trial, patients must have
imatinib failure or toxicity. BMS354825 comes in a pill form taken
orally.
For more information, contact:
You can also learn more from CML patient Jerry Mayfield, who is
documenting his experience with BMS354825 in an
online diary.
AMN107
Preclinical studies have shown AMN107 to be 10 to 30 times more
potent than imatinib against CML cells and to be active in some
imatinib-resistant cells, according to some sources. This drug is
manufactured by Novartis.
The phase I study of AMN107 is being conducted at only one U.S.
center: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The phase 1
study began around June 1. It is open only to CML patients with
accelerated or blastic phase disease and patients with Ph-positive
acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Once an effective dose is determined,
the study will expand to treat chronic-phase CML patients who have
experienced imatinib failure, and hypereosinophilia or mastocytosis.
As of two months into the study, patients have reported no
toxicities, according to MD Anderson sources.
Patients must be able to stay in Houston for the first 6 weeks of
the study. AMN107 is in pill form taken orally each day. A trial is
also being conducted at Johann
Wolfgang Geothe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
For more information, contact:
|
