ELI LILLY STARTS TRIAL OF ENZASTAURIN

Eli Lilly will treat nearly 400 patients with glioblastoma multiforme with either enzastaurin or the common chemotherapeutic agent CeeNU in a Phase III trial that the company has dubbed STEERING (for Study Evaluating Enzastaurin in Recurrent Glioblastoma).

Enzastaurin, which has been granted orphan-drug status by the FDA, is an oral serine-threonine kinase inhibitor. The company is studying whether enzastaurin could be useful in treating other cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.