[COLOR="#000000"]AstraZeneca today announced that it will be moving three of its cancer compounds forward to Phase III clinical development. As set out at its Investor Day in March, oncology is one of the company’s core therapy areas and accelerating the development of a number of new molecular entities in its pipeline is a strategic priority.
MedImmune, AstraZeneca’s global biologics research and development arm, has enrolled the first patient in the Phase III clinical trial for moxetumomab pasudotox. The trial is sponsored by the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP), a programme within the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the US National Cancer Institute, and will evaluate moxetumomab pasudotox as a potential treatment in adult patients with hairy cell leukaemia who have not responded to or relapsed after standard therapy.
“This is further evidence of AstraZeneca’s commitment to invest in distinctive science in our core therapy areas and to accelerate our Phase III pipeline,” said Dr. Bahija Jallal, Executive Vice President, MedImmune. “We believe that targeted therapies which address the underlying mechanisms of disease are the future of personalised healthcare, to help meet the unmet needs in treating cancer patients. MedImmune’s partnership with the National Cancer Institute is an example of our focus on innovative technologies designed to target cancer cells in more effective ways.”[/color]