Cellceutix Discovers Drug Activates 'Guardian Angel P53' In Fight Against Leukemia

BEVERLY, Mass., March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellceutix Corporation (OTCQB: CTIX) today reported that its flagship cancer compound, Kevetrin™, has demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in the treatment of leukemia cells in a hematopoietic xenograft tumor model.  The activity, once again, is attributed to the reactivation of p53, the "Guardian Angel" protein, which Cellceutix announced last week as a major breakthrough in cancer research.  

The data was presented to Cellceutix Scientific Advisor, Emil Frei III, MD, who is Physician-in-Chief emeritus at Harvard University's world renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Frei was honored by the American Association for Cancer Research with its inaugural lifetime achievement award for revolutionizing chemotherapy and his role in developing the first treatment leading to the complete cure for childhood leukemia. ( http://www.dana-farber.org/abo/news/press/040704.asp ) After reviewing the most recent data on Kevetrin's method of action regarding leukemia, Dr. Frei commented, "The p53 mechanism of Kevetrin as a possible new therapy for leukemia is very exciting and holds significant promise. After Dr. Menon's years of hard work, I am impressed with the progress of this novel compound. I look forward to the commencement of human trials and the realization of Kevetrin's potential as a new therapy for a wide array of cancers."

Data from the NCI-60 DTP Human Tumor Cell Line Screen showed that Kevetrin was effective in killing leukemia cells in vitro. Accordingly, the activity of Kevetrin was evaluated in nude mice bearing established human chronic myelogenous leukemia tumors, K-562. After administration of 200 mg/kg every other day per week for 3 weeks, Kevetrin significantly reduced the average tumor volume by 84% (day 24, p< 0.01). Tumors in mice treated with Kevetrin took a median of 32 days to reach 1000 mm3 in volume whereas control mice took only 15 days, resulting in a Tumor Growth Delay of 110%.  In addition, after Kevetrin treatment, the tumors in 14% of the mice completely regressed for a period of 3 weeks. This was achieved with no significant weight loss in the animals. This represents more potent anti-tumor activity compared to historical data with standard leukemia chemotherapies, Vincristine or Daunorubicin, in a human xenograft model, e.g., Vincristine (0.2 mg/kg every other day for 1 week) reduced tumor volumes by 55% and Daunorubicn (1 mg/kg every other day for 2 weeks) reduced tumor volume by 30% in the MOLM-13 acute myeloid leukemia xenograft model (Yang 2007 Blood 110:2034).

1 2 3 Next › Last »