Ariad Initiates Phase I Hematological Cancer Trial

Ariad Pharmaceuticals has started a Phase I clinical trial of its investigational oral multi-targeted kinase inhibitor, AP24534, in patients with refractory hematological cancers, including those with drug-resistant forms of chronic myeloid leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.

This clinical study determines the safety and tolerability of AP24534, as well as its pharmacokinetics and its pharmacodynamics. Since all participants in the trial will have well-characterized malignancies, initial information describing the product candidate’s anti-tumor activity will also be obtained.

This multi-center, sequential dose-escalation trial will evaluate up to 50 patients with refractory hematological cancers, each of whom will receive a fixed oral dose of AP24534 once daily without interruption. Patients will remain on treatment until they reach predetermined endpoints.

Pierre Dodion, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Ariad, said: “Discovered by Ariad scientists, AP24534 has been shown to selectively block a series of well-validated cancer targets known to play critical roles in the pathogenesis of several hematological cancers and solid tumors.”