News & Events

Press Releases

01 October, 2004

Proacta Inc Reports Data at the 16th EORTC-NCI-AACR Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 1, 2004 – Proacta Inc., an oncology drug discovery company targeting tumour hypoxia, today announced the presentation of data on its novel hypoxia-activated prodrug program at the 16th joint meeting of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Professor William Wilson of the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a co-founder of Proacta, presented data on a series of dinitrobenzamide mustards (DNBMs) that offer several advantages over Tirapazamine (TPZ), a drug in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of hypoxia-related tumours. The DNBMs have been designed to be activated only in severe (pathological) hypoxia, to have improved extravascular transport and to produce bystander effects due to the formation of relatively stable cytotoxic metabolites. The first generation of DNBMs had poor aqueous solubility and limited hypoxic selectivity. The current DNBMs are phosphate esters with excellent water solubility and formulation characteristics.

Second generation DNBM alcohols exhibited substantial hypoxia cytotoxicity ratios (HCR) in vitro and the phosphates of these compounds displayed markedly greater activity against hypoxic cells in human tumour xenograft models compared to TPZ. These strong anti-tumour effects were accompanied by low host toxicity and, unlike TPZ, no retinal toxicity. The DNBMs also showed, unlike TPZ, substantial single-agent anti-tumour activity without radiation.

Proacta is a drug development company focusing on novel therapies for physiologically targeted therapies including hypoxic (oxygen-starved) tumours. The portfolio is based on technology from Stanford University and the University of Auckland. The company is incorporated in Delaware with preclinical operations in Auckland, Palo Alto and Melbourne. Proacta recently raised $8M in Series A funding from an international syndicate led by GBS Venture Partners, Australia. Other members of the syndicate are Genentech Inc and Roche, based in the United States and Switzerland respectively, and No 8 Ventures and Endeavour Capital in New Zealand.

Tumour hypoxia is a condition that exists in the majority of solid tumours and makes treatment with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy less likely to succeed. Proacta has developed a unique portfolio of molecules which are selectively active in hypoxic tissue.

The founding scientists, Professors Bill Denny and Bill Wilson at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, at The University of Auckland (ACSRC), and Professors Martin Brown and Amato Giacca at the Division of Radiation and Cancer Biology and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Stanford University, are world leading authorities in the field of tumour hypoxia.

Proacta draws on a broad portfolio of IP across 9 chemical families. Ongoing development of the portfolio is supported by significant grant funding and led by acknowledged international experts in the field at Auckland and Stanford Universities. Proacta's strong IP and ongoing research activities in physiologically-targeted cancer therapies give it a leadership position in meeting a substantial unmet need for the large and growing oncology market.