Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK) Commences Phase 1 Trial Of MM-310 In Solid Tumors

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK) reported the enrollment of its first subject in a Phase 1 trial of MM-310 in solid tumors. The drug is an ADN that condenses a novel taxane and marks the EphA2 receptor, a protein which reviews indicate is overexpressed in 50-100% of different tumor types, including prostate, gastric, pancreatic, lung, ovarian and bladder cancers.

The highlights

The initiation of this trial is a vital step in assessing MM-310’s safety and initial activity in subjects diagnosed with solid tumors. MM-310 was intended to improve targeted delivery and local triggering of a proprietary prodrug of docetaxel, with an objective of reducing exposure to healthy tissue. In numerous preclinical models, MM-310 has shown remarkable antitumor activity when assessed to free docetaxel, and also demonstrated fewer hematologic toxicities. Merrimack look forward to advancing MM-310’s development through this trial.

The Phase 1 open-label trial will assess the preliminary activity, safety and pharmacology of MM-310 in three different parts. In the first part, it will be evaluated as a monotherapy until a MTD is established. After it is done, the trial will comprise two further concurrent parts comprising of an expansion cohort as a sole agent and a dose-finding stage in combination with other treatments. Merrimack projects to report data from the first part of the study in 2018.

As of now, five sites are projected to participate in this trial. The first patient was administered at Honor Health in Scottsdale.

Preclinical report on MM-310 was displayed in an oral presentation and 3 poster sessions at the American Association for Cancer Research 2016 Annual Meeting and further information will be showcased at the 2017 AACR Yearly Meeting.

In the last trading session, the stock price of Merrimack declined 1.50% to close at $3.28. The decline came at a share volume of 1.11 million compared to average share volume of 2.17 million.