Clinical-stage oncology company Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) has received a Notice of Allowance for a new patent covering its lead clinical compound PTX-200 for the treatment of ovarian cancer in the US.
This company said this latest patent provides it with intellectual property protection covering its lead compound for the treatment of ovarian cancer and a subpopulation of patients with a tumour or cancer cell that overexpresses Akt.
PTX-200 works by inhibiting a tumour survival pathway known as Akt. Akt plays a role in the development of many cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer, as well as leukemia.
The American Cancer Society estimates 22,240 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018 in the US.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates over 1,600 Australian women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018.
Ovarian cancer often becomes resistant to first-line therapy of carboplatin, and once it does, there are very few treatment options.
Prescient said it is seeking to reverse treatment resistance for these women by administering PTX-200 to block the Akt pathway that contributes to resistance, in combination with carboplatin.
This current Phase 1b trial is being undertaken at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida under the leadership of Dr Robert Wenham, chair of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology.