Sunesis begins phase 2 study of lung cancer drug, pays Dainippon $500,000 milestone

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Jan. 4 - Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said patient treatment has begun in a phase 2 clinical trial of SNS-595, the company's lead anti-cancer therapeutic, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have failed first-line treatment.

The start of this trial triggered a $500,000 milestone payment to Osaka-based pharmaceutical company Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd. in accordance with the terms of the 2003 license agreement between the companies.

The trial is an open-label, multi-center study designed to examine the safety and efficacy of SNS-595 as a second-line agent in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have failed first-line platinum-based therapy.

Patients will receive SNS-595 every three weeks at the maximum-tolerated dose for heavily pre-treated patients, Sunesis said.

"First-line treatment in non-small cell lung cancer typically includes a platinum drug, such as carboplatin, in combination with a taxane. SNS-595 has shown potent anti-tumor activity in pre-clinical, platinum-resistant, non-small cell lung cancer tumor models," senior vice president of research and development Daniel Adelman said in a company news release.

The company described SNS-595 as a first-in-class cell-cycle modulator that kills proliferating cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, or programmed cell death, as cells progress through the S phase of the cell cycle.

Sunesis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco that develops novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and other serious diseases.

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