Ecopia seeks approval from Canadian regulators for clinical trials of ECO-4601 to treat cancer

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Jan. 3 - Ecopia BioSciences Inc. said Tuesday that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application for ECO-4601, a small molecule that has potential for the treatment of specific cancers such as primary brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

A CTA is the Canadian equivalent of the Investigational New Drug application in the United States, which seeks approval to conduct human clinical trials. The company filed the application Dec. 30, according to a company news release.

Upon approval by the Therapeutic Product Directorate of Health Canada, Ecopia said it is proposing to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial with up to 30 patients who suffer from one of six types of cancers and are refractory to current chemotherapies.

Such cancers are glioblastomas, breast, prostate, ovarian, lung and colon cancers, officials said.

The purpose of the trial will be to test the compound's safety and tolerability.

The clinical trial involves a 21-day cycle in which different patients will receive escalating dosages of the compound via continuous infusion using ambulatory pumps for 14 days, followed by a seven-day rest, officials said.

"This clinical trial is an important milestone for Ecopia because it is our first oncology compound originated from our discovery platform," Pierre Falardeau, president and chief executive officer, said in the release.

"The safety profile of ECO-4601 found in preclinical studies allows us to test increasing doses of ECO-4601 over a relatively long period. Long-term treatment and chronic usage of chemotherapies are features that form part of the new modality in fighting cancer," Falardeau added.

ECO-4601 is a novel small molecule that crosses the blood brain barrier and is effective in significantly inhibiting primary brain tumor growth and other types of cancers.

Ecopia is a Montreal-based pharmaceutical company focused on finding new anticancer therapies from soil-dwelling microorganisms, one of the most prolific sources of drugs, the company said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.