US Patent on Lung Cancer Drug May be Significant in the Future for Treatment of Mesothelioma
by Nancy Meredith
Agennix AG, a Germany-based, biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for critically ill patients in areas of major unmet medical need, has announced that the United States Patent Office has issued them a patent for the use of talactoferrin to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma. While this drug may provide a much-needed new treatment option for NSCLC patients, the approval is also significant to mesothelioma patients who often follow the same treatment regimen as lung cancer patients.
Malignant Peural Mesothelioma (MPM), found in the outer lining of the lungs called the mesothelium, is resistant to many standard cancer treatments and is said to be chemo-resistant as well, making it a difficult disease to treat. While pleural mesothelioma is not classified as a lung cancer according to the medical definition, both are pulmonary cancers that can be caused by exposure to the toxic mineral asbestos.
Talactoferrin in Several Clinical Trials
Talactoferrin is an oral biologic therapy with immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties that has shown promising activity in Phase II clinical trials in NSCLC and sepsis. The drug is now in two Phase III clinical trials for NSCLC. Agennix hopes to enroll close to 1,800 patients in the two trials combined.
One of the trials is to determine whether talactoferrin can improve overall survival in patients with NSCLC who have been previously treated with two or more regimens. The second clinical trial is to determine whether the combination of talactoferrin, carboplatin and paclitaxel improves progression free survival and overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer compared to the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin alone.
Combination of Talactoferrin and Chemo Drug Used to Treat Mesothelioma
Carboplatin is a chemotherapy agent that is sometimes given in combination with gemcitabine in the treatment of mesothelioma. Chemotherapy drugs are usually given in combinations of two or more when treating mesothelioma, with the preferred combination being gemcitabine and cisplatin. According to the American Cancer Society, additional chemotherapy drugs used for the treatment of mesothelioma include cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and epirubicin (Ellence).
According to Agennix, lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths around the globe. Over 157,000 people in the U.S. and approximately 252,000 in the EU are expected to die from this disease annually. Approximately 3,000 new cases of the incurable cancer, mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States.
Agennix also reported that a patent application covering the use of talactoferrin in lung cancer has recently received a Decision to Grant in Japan. This patent would provide protection until 2023. The Company has a patent application pending in Europe related to the use of talactoferrin in oncology.
