Cellceutix anti-cancer compound may be tested ag
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Cellceutix anti-cancer compound may be tested against myeloma
Boston Business Journal by Don Seiffert, Associate Editor MHT
Date: Monday, December 31, 2012, 12:17pm EST
Leo Ehrlich, CEO of Cellceutix, said the company was approached on Dec. 27 by a cancer center in the southwestern U.S. about testing its anti-cancer compound, Kevetrin, as a potential treatment for myeloma.
- Don Seiffert
- Associate Editor MHT- Boston Business Journal
Leo Ehrlich , CEO of Beverly-based Cellceutix Corp. (OTCBB: CTIX) said Monday that the biotech has been approached by a cancer center in the southwestern U.S. about testing its anti-cancer compound, Kevetrin, as a potential treatment for myeloma. He added that a commitment of $10 million over the next three years, announced earlier in December, will help fund those trials as well as others.
In a statement , Ehrlich did not specify the name of the cancer center, saying that a non-disclosure agreement has been signed and a material transfer agreement is in the works since the center approached Cellceutix last week. Ehrlich described the center as “one of the world’s most prominent cancer centers, located in the southwest United States.”
Kevetrin is currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials at Harvard University’s Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center against solid tumors. The trials began in November, and Ehrlich said in Monday’s statement that the results so far have been “very encouraging.” Additionally, a Phase 1b trials to be sponsored by and hosted at “a leading European University” testing Kevetrin against acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2013, according to the statement.
On Dec. 9, the company announced that Aspire Capital Fund LLC has committed to buying $10 million worth of common stock in the company over the next three years. The money will help fund clinical trials of Kevetrin as well as Cellceutix second drug candidate aimed at psoriasis, Prurisol.
“Although many of the expected studies on Kevetrin will be sponsored by outside organizations, financing is still critical to advancing those drugs further into human trials,” said Ehrlich in the statement. “(Aspire Capital Fund’s) commitment to provide us funding at such favorable terms will prove invaluable to developing our pipeline.”
The company’s stock has risen from about 50 cents a share in May to a high of $2.42 on Dec. 26. As of noon on Monday the stock value was $1.76.
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