Date: 2014-01-09
Type of information: Initiation of preclinical development
phase:
Announcement: initiation of the trial
Company: Synta Pharmaceuticals (USA)
Product: combination of ganetespib and paclitaxel
Action
mechanism: taxane derivative/protein inhibitor. Ganetespib inhibits the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) chaperone protein. Approximately 70% of advanced ovarian cancers are characterized as Type II tumors, which exhibit mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene and are associated with particularly aggressive, rapid disease progression. Preclinical models have shown that mutant p53 is critical to the growth and proliferation of these cancers. Many mutations render p53 unable to fold appropriately, leaving the protein highly dependent on Hsp90 for stability. Inhibition of Hsp90 destroys the complex between Hsp90 and mutant p53, leading to the degradation of the protein and cancer cell death. This anti-cancer activity is substantially stronger in cells with mutant p53 than in cells with non-mutated p53, suggesting potential as a predictive biomarker for Hsp90 inhibitors such as ganetespib. Hsp90 inhibition has also been shown to sensitize mutant p53 cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapies, as has been seen in preclinical studies evaluating ganetespib in other tumor types, supporting the planned trial design evaluating the combination of ganetespib and paclitaxel vs. paclitaxel alone.
Disease:
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Country: Austria, Belgium, France, and Germany
Trial
details: GANNET53 (Ganetespib in metastatic, p53 mutant, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer) is a Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) project sponsored by the Innsbruck Medical University and funded by the European Commission. This pan-European, multi-center trial is designed to determine the efficacy of ganetespib and paclitaxel compared to paclitaxel alone in patients with metastatic, Type II, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, which is characterized by mutations in the p53 gene. The GANNET53 trial is the result of a preclinical research collaboration between members of the European consortium conducting the study and Synta.
Latest
news: * On January 9, 2014, Synta Pharmaceuticals has announced the launch of GANNET53, a pan-European randomized trial evaluating the combination of ganetespib and paclitaxel vs. paclitaxel alone in over 200 patients with metastatic, predominantly p53 mutant, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Centers in will participate in the clinical trial, which is expected to begin enrollment in mid-2014. Ganetespib, Synta’s lead anti-cancer drug candidate is being studied in over 25 clinical trials, including an ongoing Phase 3 trial in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. “The selection of ganetespib for the GANNET53 program and the European Commission support are exciting steps in advancing both the science and clinical potential of ganetespib,” said Safi R. Bahcall, Ph.D., President and CEO of Synta. “The identification and evaluation of the connection between p53 mutation status and the potential role for Hsp90 inhibition, may have important implications not only for patients with ovarian cancer, but in other tumor types for which p53 mutation is known to be important, such as triple-negative breast cancer.”
