ONCOGENEX INITIATES PHASE II CLINICAL TRIALS FOR CANCER DRUG

OncoGenex has announced that the first patient has been treated in a Phase II clinical trial of OGX-011 in hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients. OGX-011 is a second-generation antisense drug designed to specifically inhibit the production of clusterin, a cell-survival protein associated with resistance to standard anticancer treatments. This is the third of four Phase II studies OncoGenex has planned for OGX-011 in 2005.

Coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, this open-label, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial will accrue a total of 80 patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Patients in the OGX-011 arm of the study will receive OGX-011 once per week and will also receive daily prednisone and docetaxel once every three weeks. Patients in the standard arm of the study will receive daily prednisone and docetaxel once every three weeks. The study will evaluate the effect of OGX-011 and docetaxel on PSA, duration of response, serum clusterin levels and overall survival.