EXELIXIS STARTS PHASE II TRIAL FOR CANCER DRUG

Exelixis has launched a Phase II trial of its drug XL999, which is being tested for a variety of cancers.

The study consists of four trials for which the company is enrolling patients at multiple U.S. centers to test the new therapy against solid tumors including renal cell carcinoma and colon, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers, and two other trials evaluating the treatment for acute myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma.

XL999 is a so-called spectrum selective kinase inhibitor, which inhibits key receptor tyrosine kinases implicated in the development and maintenance of tumor vasculature and in the proliferation of some tumor cells.