Moffitt finds new use for cancer-fighting drug
Published: June 25, 2005
The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute said it expects to begin clinical trials in six to eight months on a drug that could add another weapon in the arsenal against several cancers.
The drug is particularly promising in fighting tumors in the breast, ovary, colon, skin and prostate, according to a release from Moffitt.
The drug, a compound called tricirbine, was tested at various cancer centers from 1982 and 1996 and found to inhibit some cancers, but researchers could not determine why.
Moffitt, working in partnership with University of South Florida, said it has found the drug works against tumors in which the cancer-causing Akt protein is abundant and/or abnormally active. Moffitt researchers said it is a tailored therapy for tumors with a specific molecular signature.
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Surviving “Terminal” Cancer: Clinical Trials, Drug Cocktails, and Other Treatments Your Oncologist Won’t Tell You AboutA New Jersey company, VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTC BB: VQPH), will license the rights to the compound from Moffitt and is planning the clinical trial with Moffitt. Patients will be selected for the trials based on whether their tumors have hyperactive Akt, which can be determined by a simple slide-stain test of tumor tissue.
Moffitt, located in Tampa, has been designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
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