Astex Earns Milestone Payment on Initiation of Phase 3 Study
Astex Earns Milestone Payment on Initiation of Phase 3 Study
Cambridge, UK, and Dublin, CA, USA, 4th March 2014, Astex Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics, announced hat it has received a milestone payment triggered by the commencement, by Novartis, of a Phase 3 study of LEE011, a small-molecule inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) 4 and 6. LEE011 was discovered as part of a drug discovery collaboration between Astex and Novartis announced in December 2005.
LEE011 specifically and selectively inhibits CDK4 and CDK6 leading to cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, and suppressing DNA synthesis may inhibit cancer cell growth. LEE011, in combination with other agents, has shown promising activity in pre-clinical studies in melanoma and breast cancer. The current Phase 3 study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LEE011 in combination with letrozole in ER+ve, HER2ve postmenopausal woman with advanced breast cancer1.
1 Study of Efficacy and Safety of LEE011 in Postmenopausal Women With Advanced Breast Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01958021.
About Astex Pharmaceuticals
Astex Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics with a focus on oncology. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. In October 2013, Astex was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary.
For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://stagin.astx.co.uk
CONTACT:
Jeremy Carmichael
Senior Director of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road
Cambridge CB4 0QA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 226200
Email: 
