BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Improving on somatostatin

March 27, 2006 8:00 AM UTC

While the inhibitory effects of the hormone somatostatin offer an approach to treating cancer, its endocrine side effects have historically limited its use against solid tumors. Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc. hopes that CAP-232, a somatostatin analog that it recently in-licensed from Biostatin Pharmaceutical Research and Development Ltd., will overcome that limitation.

CAP-232 (formerly TT-232) was in-licensed from Biostatin via technology transfer company ExperGen Drug Development GmbH (Vienna, Austria) for an undisclosed amount. The product was safe in a Phase IIa trial in metastatic melanoma and is slated to enter two new Phase II trials this year, probably in metastatic melanoma and pancreatic cancer, according to Lloyd Segal, Caprion's president and CEO (see BioCentury, March 20). ...