Oncorena announces first patient treated in the Phase I/II trial of the first-in-class compound, ONC175 (orellanine), in patients with metastatic renal cancer and dialysis. The first treatment was conducted on 8 August without any complication at the Center for Clinical Cancer Studies at Karolinska University Hospital (Stockholm, Sweden). The study examines safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and anti-tumour effect when treated with ONC175, a press release details.
“I am happy to announce first patient, first treatment in our clinical phase I/II trial, Oncorella-1, with ONC175. This is a milestone for Oncorena accelerating our development plan since these patients are in need of more effective therapies,” said Börje Haraldsson, CEO and chief scientific officer at Oncorena AB.
The clinical study, Oncorella-1, is conducted at the Center for Clinical Cancer Studies at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Haemodialysis is given at the same hospital, since patients eligible to the study are dialysis-dependent. The first patient was given an infusion of ONC175 for 30 minutes, while additional patients are ready for treatment in the autumn, the press release states. Each patient is followed up four weeks after the infusion by an independent Data Review Committee recommending potential dose escalations.
The drug candidate ONC175 has a “unique mode of action” and is being developed as a potential cure in patients with metastatic renal cancer and dialysis-dependent renal failure, the release goes on to note. “Preclinical studies,” it adds, “have shown that ONC175 is highly selective organ-targeted chemotherapy with potent anti-tumour effects metastatic renal cancer.”
“It concerns a very different and unique medicine that is being tested here on patients with disseminated kidney cancer. We are very happy that the study is underway and we look forward to the results,” says Jeffrey Yachnin, responsible for the study at the Center for Clinical Cancer Studies, Karolinska University Hospital.
