LORUS REPORTS RESULTS OF VIRULIZIN CLINICAL TRIAL

Lorus Therapeutics has announced the results of a randomized Phase III clinical trial of Virulizin in the first-line treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The trial compared Virulizin plus gemcitabine to placebo plus gemcitabine for treatment of chemonaive patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. For the efficacy evaluable population, the study showed that the addition of Virulizin to gemcitabine resulted in a median overall survival of 6.8 months and a one-year survival rate of 27.2 percent compared to 6.0 months and 16.8 percent for placebo plus gemcitabine. In the intent to treat population the median overall survivals were 6.3 months for Virulizin plus gemcitabine (one year survival rate of 25.9 percent) compared to 6.0 months for placebo plus gemcitabine (one year survival rate of 17.6 percent).

Virulizin was well-tolerated, with no major differences observed between the Virulizin plus gemcitabine arm and the control group.