Karyopharm launches trials of child cancer drug
Karyopharm Therapeutics is beginning early-stage clinical trials of its cancer drug, Selinexor, on children with relapsed or resistant forms of leukemia.
The Natick-based company said Monday the study will be conducted on 28 children and is being partially funded by a grant from the Boston-based William Lawrence & Blanche Hughes Foundation.
“While many of our pediatric patients with these diseases are cured with currently available agents, there remains a significant minority of patients whose disease is resistant to standard chemotherapy,” principal investigator Dr. Andrew Place said in a statement. “We hope to learn if further development of this new agent will help children with high-risk malignancies.”
Karyopharm said pre-clinical results indicate that Selinexor can kill leukemia-initiating cells, which are highly resistant to standard treatments. The drug can also enhance nuclear levels of tumor suppressor proteins, leading to the deaths of cells associated with the tumor.
More than 290 adult patients with advanced malignancies and solid tumors have been treated with Selinexor in early-stage trials. The company said additional early and mid-stage trials of the drug are ongoing or currently planned.
(Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net)
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