Piramal Life Sciences Limited has announced that a phase-II study for its lead cancer molecule P276 for the treatment of head and neck cancer has been initiated in India. This phase-II study will evaluate the efficacy of P276 in the treatment of head and neck cancer and will enroll approximately 40 patients in about five centres across India.

P276 is an inhibitor of CDKs, the key enzymes involved in the uncontrolled division and multiplication of cancer cells. The molecule has completed two phase-I studies and is being tested in another phase-I/II trial for Multiple Myeloma in India. Another trial for Multiple Myeloma will start in the US in the near future. Approximately, 200,000 new cases of head and neck cancer in India and 600,000 cases worldwide have been projected for 2008.

Dr Swati Piramal, director, Piramal Group, said, "Piramal Life Sciences aims to reduce the burden of disease by finding new and affordable cures for unmet medical needs. Committed to the Group's values - knowledge, action and care, we nurture breakthrough thinking and follow it up with dynamic, nimble-footed delivery to impact lives of millions of people. We are pleased that our clinical trial application for phase-II of P276 has been accepted by the Indian regulatory authorities."

Dr Somesh Sharma, managing director, Piramal Life Sciences, stated, "The unique property of the P276 is that it is a small molecule while current targeted therapy for head and neck cancer is a biological. This phase-II study for the treatment of head and neck cancer will help us further realizes the potential of this molecule in this particular cancer."