Telik Announces Initiation Of Phase 1 Clinical Study Of Ezatiostat Hydrochloride (TELINTRA(R), TLK199) Tablets In Combination With Lenalidomide (Revlimid(R)) In Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Telik, Inc. (Nasdaq: TELK) today announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study to evaluate ezatiostat hydrochloride (TELINTRA, TLK199) tablets in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid) in patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

This Phase 1 trial is an open label, multicenter, dose escalation study of TELINTRA in combination with lenalidomide in patients with non-deletion (5q-) low to intermediate-1 risk MDS.  TELINTRA will be administered in escalating doses in combination with standard dose and schedule lenalidomide.

The study is designed to enroll up to 30 patients and the primary objectives are to assess the safety, tolerability and the maximum tolerated dose of TELINTRA in combination with lenalidomide.  The rationale for the study included non-overlapping toxicities and different mechanisms of action of each component of the combination.

Telik previously reported positive Phase 1 results from a multicenter, dose escalation study of ezatiostat hydrochloride (TELINTRA, TLK199) tablets in patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) in a leading peer reviewed journal, Blood, 25 June 2009; Vol. 113, No.26, pp. 6533-6540.  Positive results from a separate Phase 1-2A study in MDS patients involving an intravenous formulation of TELINTRA were published in the Journal of Hematology and Oncology, 13 May 2009; Vol. 2, No.10, pp. 20-32.

A Phase 2 Study is ongoing evaluating two different treatment regimens of Telintra in MDS patients, with results expected early this year. In addition, TELINTRA is also being evaluated in a Phase 2 randomized study for the treatment of patients with Severe Chronic Idiopathic Neutropenia (SCIN).

Background on MDS and TELINTRA

MDS is a heterogeneous group of blood stem cell disorders of increasing incidence.  MDS is characterized by ineffective blood cell production involving one or more of the red cell, white cell or platelet lineages and with MDS patients having a variable risk of progression to leukemia.  There remains a need for effective, well tolerated therapies for MDS having novel mechanisms of action.  TELINTRA has a novel mechanism of action that inhibits a target enzyme called glutathione S-transferase P1-1 which in turn facilitates the activation of JNK kinase, a key regulator of cellular growth and differentiation of blood.  TELINTRA has been shown to stimulate normal multilineage differentiation of blood stem cell precursors and induce cancer cell death in human leukemia cell lines.  Additional information on TELINTRA is available at www.telik.com.

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