An experimental drug being trialled for advanced solid tumours, including the most aggressive brain cancer – glioblastoma – has passed the first phase with flying colours, raising hopes for an effective new treatment.
University of South Australia (UniSA) Professor Shudong Wang and Adelaide biotech company Aucentra Therapeutics are now recruiting up to 50 glioblastoma patients for the second phase, trialling the drug Auceliciclib.
The first phase, which started in June 2021, involved patients with glioblastoma, as well as cervical, colon, gastrointestinal, pancreatic and uterine cancers, ensuring that Auceliciclib was safe at different dosages.
In the second stage the drug’s effectiveness against solid tumours will be tested.
The progress into glioblastoma treatment has been announced on the eve of World Cancer Research Day, Saturday 24 September.
“Phase one usually takes up to two years if there are any safety concerns with a new drug, but we didn’t experience any issues with Auceliciclib, which is very encouraging,” Prof Wang says.
The second phase, in combination with the chemotherapy drug Temozolomide, will be focused on glioblastoma patients, whose life expectancy is very limited, with a survival time of just 12-18 months after diagnosis.
