Ligand approach to IGF

While drug companies have been targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor since it was first implicated in cancer almost two decades ago, the strategy has yet to bear fruit because of tumor resistance and off-target effects. AstraZeneca plc's MedImmune LLC subsidiary thinks it can avoid those issues by targeting the receptor's ligands IGF-1 and IGF-2 with its MEDI-573 antibody.

Jerry McMahon, SVP of R&D and head of the oncology innovative medicines unit at MedImmune, said preclinical data thus far support the mAb's mechanistic rationale, and Phase I data show no safety signals. The company plans to start Phase II trials in various solid tumors next half...