Sunshine Biopharma Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms of cancer, has reported an update on the progress of the IND-enabling studies of Adva-27a, the company’s flagship oncology drug candidate.

The company has completed seven in vitro studies till date in which Adva-27a has shown potent anti-tumour activity in every cell line tested, including multidrug resistant breast cancer, multidrug resistant uterine cancer and small-cell lung cancer, for which today’s approved therapies have little or no efficacy.

The Adva-27a IND enabling research is being conducted in the United States and Canada. Following filing of the IND application, the clinical trials are scheduled to be performed at McGill University’s world-renowned Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada.

“We are extremely excited about the laboratory data that have been collected so far, which have shown Adva-27a to have a robust profile in destroying tumors in a wide array of cancer lines that have very limited, if any, treatment options today,” said Dr Steve N Slilaty, president and CEO of Sunshine Biopharma. “The next wave of studies is progressing as planned and we look forward to analysing and delivering these results to our shareholders in the near future. While no assurances can be provided, we are very optimistic that the new data will support and validate the in vitro studies as we develop what we believe could be a monumental breakthrough in oncology.”

One of the most commonly used drugs to treat breast cancer today is Herceptin (trastuzumab), a therapeutic of Roche Holding AG designed to treat patients with HER-2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2) positive form of the disease. This condition is present in approximately 20 per cent of breast cancer patients. Sales of Herceptin in 2012 were approximately $6 billion worldwide.

Sunshine Biopharma is a development stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms of cancer.