Make no bones about it - Ariad has a possible treatment

Ariad Pharmaceuticals has disclosed the efficacy of novel cancer treatments, with results of pre-clinical studies demonstrating the potential therapeutic benefits of its product candidate to treat cancer that has spread to bone.

AP23841 combines, in a single small-molecule drug, effective blockade of both tumor growth and bone destruction - the two processes that need to be controlled to treat the grave clinical consequences of bone metastases.

Even though none of the available therapies for bone metastases directly affects both tumor growth and bone destruction, sales of zoledronic acid (Zometa(R)), the leading bisphosphonate used for this indication, are estimated to reach approximately $1bn in 2003.

'The development of a novel therapy for bone metastases that acts directly and potently on both tumor growth and bone destruction should be highly desirable from a clinical and mechanistic standpoint and should have potential added benefit over existing drugs used to treat this disease,' said Dr Harvey J. Berger,chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD.

Bone Cancer

Approximately 750,000 cancer patients worldwide will die this year with bone metastases. Some of the most common solid tumors - breast, prostate, lung and kidney cancer - commonly spread to bone, resulting in severe bone pain and pathological fractures due to increased bone fragility. AP23841 is similar to ARIAD's lead cancer product, AP23573. Both product candidates inhibit the activity of a protein known as mTOR, which results in the starvation of cancer cells. However, AP23841 is designed to selectively concentrate in bone, which should deliver a more potent therapeutic effect to cancer cells that have migrated to bone. AP23841 also blocks the activity of bone cells responsible for bone destruction. Stopping bone destruction impedes the release of growth factors that attract cancer cells to bone and stimulate their proliferation in bone.