CHEMOKINE THERAPEUTICS RECEIVES APPROVAL TO INITIATE TRIAL FOR CTCE-9908

Chemokine Therapeutics has received approval from Health Canada to initiate a Phase Ib/II clinical trial using CTCE-9908, a chemokine CXCR4 antagonist. The company plans to test the drug in approximately up to 30 patients with late stage cancers to evaluate safety as well as early efficacy. The trial is designed to study a mixed group of tumors that will include the most common cancers, such as ovarian, lung, and breast.

Chemokine expects to expand its CTCE-9908 clinical program with the filing of an IND to the FDA in the first quarter of this year. In previous preclinical studies, CTCE-9908 has been shown to reduce cancer metastases by 50 percent to 70 percent and to have anti-angiogenic properties. In July 2005, the FDA granted orphan-drug designation to CTCE-9908 for the treatment of osteogenic sarcoma, a bone cancer that occurs in children and young adults.