BR’s Esperance completes part of cancer trial

Esperance Pharmaceuticals has completed part of a Phase 2 trial that compared the effects of its drug EP-100 in combination with paclitaxel in treating patients with advanced ovarian cancer to the treatments of paclitaxel alone.

EP-100 targets specific hormone receptors on tumor cells. The Esperance product is designed to break the cell walls and kill the tumor cell without harming healthy cells.

The hormone receptors are over-expressed in a wide range of cancers, according to Esperance.

Over-expression takes place when the body makes too many copies of a substance and may play a role in cancer development, according to the National Cancer Institute.

In June, Esperance presented results from the successful completion of a Phase 1 study of EP‑100 in advanced solid tumors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

“We are pleased with the continued momentum behind EP‑100 and the progress of enrollment as we begin the randomized treatment phase,” said Dr. Hector Alila, Esperance’s chief executive officer. “We are encouraged with early results and look forward to accelerating enrollment in a very important, underserved patient population and providing an update on the clinical progress over time.”

Editor’s Note: This story was changed on Aug. 30, 2012, to say that Esperance has completed part of the Phase 2 trial.