POINT THERAPEUTICS BEGINS LUNG CANCER TRIAL

Point Therapeutics has it initiated a Phase III program in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The program will further evaluate the company's lead compound, talabostat, in patients with Stage IIIb/IV NSCLC after failure of a platinum-based chemotherapy.

The program will consist of two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in up to 800 patients at approximately 100 sites in North America.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the U.S., with nearly 60 percent of people diagnosed dying within one year and nearly 75 percent dying within two years.