News outPharmaGap Releases Results of Initial Testing For Novel Cancer Drug Compound at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
OTTAWA, Aug. 6 /CNW Telbec/ - PharmaGap Inc. (TSX-V: GAP) ("PharmaGap" or
"the Company") and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute ("OHRI") today
released initial testing results for PharmaGap's cancer drug GAP-107B8
(formerly PhG-alpha-1). Led by Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden, OHRI researchers
conducted cell growth (proliferation) assays using nine (9) ovarian cancer
cell lines in order to assess the efficacy of the drug as a single agent
therapeutic and in combination with the current standard of care
chemotherapeutic agent used to treat the majority of ovarian cancer cases each
year in North America. The ovarian cancer cell lines tested at the OHRI were
derived from human carcinomas and included serous, endometrioid and clear cell
subtypes.
Results of testing conducted by Dr. Vanderhyden's group showed that
GAP-107B8 as a single agent was a potent inhibitor of ovarian cancer cell
proliferation. Over the 48-hour test period, a statistically significant
reduction in cell proliferation was observed in eight (8) of the nine (9)
ovarian cancer cell lines tested, including in two (2) cell lines resistant to
the standard of care chemotherapy. GAP-107B8 (25 (micro)m) inhibited cell
proliferation by 30% to 79% compared with untreated cells, with a greater than
50% inhibition in proliferation being observed in four (4) of the eight (8)
cell lines. One (1) of the resistant cell lines, when treated with GAP-107B8
alone, showed the highest reduction in proliferation of all the cell lines
tested (79% relative to the untreated control group, and 78% relative to a
control group treated with the chemotherapeutic agent alone). "We are very
pleased that the data clearly show an impact of this peptide on some of our
most aggressive ovarian cancer cell lines" stated Dr. Vanderhyden.
Figures from the U.S. National Cancer Institute ("NCI") indicate that in
2009 ovarian cancer was anticipated to afflict almost 22,000 women and that
14,600 would succumb to the disease (www.cancer.gov). Despite advances in
radiation therapy and chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate for advanced
stages of ovarian cancer is less than 30 percent, primarily due to the
difficulty of early detection for this type of cancer and the common
recurrence of chemoresistant disease.
Robert McInnis, President and Chief Executive Officer of PharmaGap
stated, "We are delighted that Dr. Vanderhyden's laboratory at OHRI has
reported compelling results for GAP-107B8. Independent validation of the
potency of our novel drug compound by a world-class research facility is an
important step in our program to develop this novel anti-cancer agent. As a
result of these positive results we look forward to continue working with the
OHRI in the GAP-107B8 testing program with additional in vitro studies and in
animal models of ovarian cancer developed by Dr. Vanderhyden's group."
Dr. Vanderhyden is a Senior Scientist, Cancer Therapeutics at the Ottawa
Hospital Research Institute and a Professor in the Departments of Cellular &
Molecular Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Ottawa.
She holds the Corinne Boyer Chair in Ovarian Cancer Research. She has
published over 60 peer-reviewed journal papers primarily in the area of
ovarian cancer and collaborates extensively with many pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies focused on the development of therapies for ovarian
cancer.