Clinical trial of liver cancer drug GNS561 underway

Clinical-stage biotech company, Genoscience Pharma, has started administering GNS561 in a Phase I/IIa trial of patients with advanced liver cancer.

This clinical study, to be performed both in Europe and the US, will involve up to 50 patients and will evaluate safety, activity and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of escalating doses of GNS561. Up to 36 patients will be enrolled in the escalation phase, in six cohorts, with additional patients to be enrolled in the continuation phase.

“This clinical programme represents a paradigm shift for our company; it will provide a wealth of valuable additional knowledge and data to drive our platform of metal transporter modulators towards various clinical applications for cancer therapy,” said Professor Philippe Halfon, president and CEO of Genoscience Pharma.

“Since being granted a rapid approval from regulatory authorities and institutional review boards, we have initiated the first-in-class GNS561 studies,” added Professor Eric Raymond, chief medical officer. “The enrolment and treatment of the first patient represents a major milestone for Genoscience Pharma.”

“We are excited to be enrolling our first patient with GNS561. We are hopeful that this novel anticancer drug will prove to be a significant and effective weapon against liver cancer,” asserted Professor Ahmad Awada, principal investigator.

GNS561 is an orally bioavailable compound initially being developed for the treatment of primary liver cancer, including advanced HCC. It is also being investigated pre-clinically in other solid tumours.