Contact: Sandra Menta
610-738-6376
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Cephalon Presents Research Results
from Pancreatic Cancer Studies
West Chester, PA - September 18, 1998 - Cephalon, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH)
announced today the first findings from preclinical studies of its compound,
CEP-701, for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The
results presented today at the Baltic Pancreas Meeting in Germany demonstrate
that CEP-701 can significantly decrease tumor growth as well as inhibit tumor
cell invasion in PDAC animal models.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in the
United States. The mean survival time of this highly aggressive cancer is four
to six months after diagnosis. Current treatments including chemotherapy,
radiation therapy and surgery, either separately or in combination, are not
sufficient to significantly increase patient survival time.
As reported at today's meeting by Cephalon's Dr. Bruce A. Ruggeri, CEP-701
demonstrated anti-tumor activity in five of six pancreas tumors transplanted
into mice (xenografts). Four out of six of these xenografts also demonstrated
inhibition of in vivo tumor cell invasion. Cephalon scientists tested CEP-701
alone and in combination with the drug, gemcitabine, finding that dual treatment
with gemcitabine was more effective in inhibiting growth of PDAC xenografts than
either compound alone.
CEP-701 is one of a series of specific receptor trk kinase inhibitors
derived from the indolocarbazole K252a, which was originally synthesized by
Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. PDAC specimens overexpress receptor
trk kinases which bind to growth factors associated with tumor growth and
invasiveness. Thus, inhibition of these receptor trk kinases allows for the
opportunity of therapeutic intervention. Although the findings presented today
are preliminary, they provide the impetus to further investigate the role of
CEP-701 as a potential therapy for pancreatic cancer.
In its agreement with Kyowa Hakko, Cephalon has rights to a series of
molecules, including CEP-701, in the United States and Europe. Cephalon has
been developing these molecules for the potential use in treating prostate and
other cancers, of which CEP-701, as an orally-active molecule, is currently in
Phase 1 clinical studies in the U.S.
Cephalon, Inc., headquartered in West Chester, PA, is an international
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and marketing
of products to treat neurological disorders and cancer.
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