LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced that it has reached its enrollment target of 400 patients for the company's pivotal global Phase 3 clinical trial of aldoxorubicin in patients with previously treated soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Enrollment was originally estimated to be completed in Q1 2016. The Phase 3 trial is a randomized, comparative trial being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment from the FDA at 79 sites in the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia, Western & Eastern Europe and Chile.
"It is a true testament to the dedicated work of our clinical team, the enthusiasm of our participating physicians, and the willingness of patients to participate in our study that enrollment in our global pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial was completed ahead of schedule," said Steven A. Kriegsman, Chairman and CEO of CytRx. "We now expect to report the primary endpoint of top-line progression-free survival (PFS) in the first half of 2016, and pre-commercial launch activities are underway."
"As a member of the sarcoma research community, I am very excited to see the overwhelmingly positive response from my colleagues to this pivotal trial," said Sant P. Chawla, M.D., F.R.A.C.P., Principal Investigator and Director of the Sarcoma Oncology Center. This trial is the first to compare a single agent, aldoxorubicin, to five of the most commonly used treatment options for STS patients that have received prior chemotherapy. The rapid timeframe in which this Phase 3 trial reached its targeted enrollment reflects the desire of practitioners for more efficacious therapies."
Trial Design
This is a multicenter, randomized, open-label Phase 3 clinical trial designed to enroll approximately 400 late-stage patients with metastatic, locally advanced or unresectable soft tissue sarcomas who have either not responded to, or who have progressed following treatment with one or more systemic regimens of nonadjuvant chemotherapies. Trial patients are randomized 1:1 to be treated with aldoxorubicin or the investigator's choice of an approved chemotherapeutic regimen, including doxorubicin, ifosfamide, dacarbazine, pazopanib (Votrient®), or gemcitabine plus docetaxel. The primary endpoint of the study is PFS and will be calculated after 191 events occur. Secondary endpoints include overall survival, response rates and safety. In January 2014, CytRx announced that it received approval from the FDA to amend the Phase 3 protocol to continue dosing patients with aldoxorubicin until disease progression as defined by RECIST 1.1 criteria. The ability to dose until disease progression creates the potential for substantially improved Phase 3 efficacy results.
About Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer occurring in muscle, fat, blood vessels, tendons, fibrous tissues and connective tissue, and can arise anywhere in the body at any age. According to the American Cancer Society, there are approximately 50 types of soft tissue sarcomas. In 2013 more than 11,400 new cases were diagnosed in the U.S. and approximately 4,400 Americans died from this disease. In addition, approximately 40,000 new cases and 13,000 deaths in the U.S. and Europe are part of a growing underserved market.
About Aldoxorubicin
The widely used chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin is delivered systemically and is highly toxic, which limits its dose to a level below its maximum therapeutic benefit. Doxorubicin also is associated with many side effects, especially the potential for damage to heart muscle at cumulative doses greater than 450 mg/m2. Aldoxorubicin combines doxorubicin with a novel single-molecule linker that binds directly and specifically to circulating albumin, the most plentiful protein in the bloodstream. Protein-hungry tumors concentrate albumin, thus increasing the delivery of the linker molecule with the attached doxorubicin to tumor sites. In the acidic environment of the tumor, but not the neutral environment of healthy tissues, doxorubicin is released. This allows for greater doses (3 ½ to 4 times) of doxorubicin to be administered while reducing its toxic side effects. In studies thus far there has been no evidence of clinically significant effects of aldoxorubicin on heart muscle, even at cumulative doses of drug well in excess of 2,000 mg/m2.
About CytRx Corporation
CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology. CytRx currently is focused on the clinical development of aldoxorubicin (formerly known as INNO-206), its improved version of the widely used chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. CytRx is also seeking to expand its pipeline of oncology candidates at its laboratory facilities in Freiburg, Germany, through its LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology platform, a discovery engine designed to leverage CytRx's expertise in albumin biology and linker technology for the development of a new class of anti-cancer therapies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements, including risks relating to the outcome, timing and results of CytRx's clinical testing of aldoxorubicin, the risk that any future pre-clinical or human testing of aldoxorubicin might not show efficacy or reduced side effects, risks related to CytRx's ability to manufacture its drug candidates in a timely fashion, cost-effectively or in commercial quantities in compliance with stringent regulatory requirements, risks related to CytRx's need for additional capital or strategic partnerships to fund its ongoing working capital needs and development efforts, including the Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical development of aldoxorubicin for SCLC and STS, respectively, and the preclinical and clinical development of compounds based on the LADR™ technology platform, risks related to lawsuits that have been brought against the Company and its officers and/or directors for alleged violations of the securities laws, and the risks and uncertainties described in the most recent annual and quarterly reports filed by CytRx with the Securities and Exchange Commission and current reports filed since the date of CytRx's most recent annual report. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to CytRx on the date the statements are first published. CytRx undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Company Contact:
CytRx Corporation
David J. Haen
Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations
(310) 826-5648, ext 304
dhaen@cytrx.com
Investor Relations:
Alexander Capital, LP
(855) 288-ALEX (2539)
cytrx@alexandercapitallp.com
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SOURCE CytRx Corporation