3G4, the mouse version of Tarvacin, is active against a number of solid tumours including lung, prostate, pancreatic, fibrosarcoma and breast cancers given as a single agent or in combination with either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, according to a study related to Tarvacin, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' lead Anti-Phospholipid Therapy agent.

The data was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.

In a pre-clinical lung cancer model, the combination of 3G4 plus radiation therapy inhibited tumour growth by over 95 per cent and 3G4 alone decreased tumour growth by 62 per cent. In pancreatic pre-clinical tumour therapy experiments, 3G4 plus the chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine decreased primary tumour growth by 60 per cent and essentially stopped metastasis to liver and lymph nodes.

"These pre-clinical data in a variety of tumour types are extremely valuable since our phase I clinical trial for Tarvacin allows inclusion of patients with any solid tumour type." said Steven King, president and CEO of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals. "In particular, pre-clinical results investigating different combinations of Tarvacin with standard cancer therapies should prove especially helpful in guiding the clinical programme. Peregrine expects to begin patient enrolment in the Tarvacin phase I clinical trial within the next 30 days," he added.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of products under development directed towards the treatment of cancer, viruses and other diseases.