CellCeutix pharmaceutical company

• has demonstrated the potential for a major breakthrough in cancer research by exhibiting an activation of p53. p53, often referred to as the "Guardian Angel Gene" or the "Guardian Angel of the Human Genome" due its crucial role in controlling cell mutations, is a tumor suppressor protein that is encoded by the TP53 gene in humans and has been widely regarded as possibly holding a key to the future of cancer therapies. p53 has been shown to play critical roles in the homeostatic health of the human body by activating proteins required to repair DNA and plays a major role in the life cycle of cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis to maintain cellular and genetic stability.
• In more than 50 percent of all human carcinomas, p53 is limited in its anti-tumor activities by mutations in the protein itself. Currently, there are greater than 10 million people with tumors that contain inactivated p53, while a similar number have tumors in which the p53 pathway is partially abrogated by inactivation of other signaling components. This has left cancer researchers with the grand challenge of searching for therapies that could restore the protein’s protective function, which Kevetrin appears to be doing the majority of the time.
• Excellent results in animal model experiments in drug-resistant cancers.

Kevetrin, our lead product candidate, is a small molecule compound proprietary to the Company.  Its structure is distinct from other anti-cancer agents currently on the market.   Kevetrin was discovered by the Company's founder, Dr. Krishna Menon, and has been studied extensively (in vitro and in vivo) demonstrating potent anti-cancer activity against various cancer cell lines.  Kevetrin's recent success in a series of animal model experiments with drug-resistant cancer cell lines, has galvanized the Company to focus on Kevetrin's development potential in this area.  Kevetrin's primary mechanism of action has been shown to be p53 activation. Some highlights of the studies conducted to date include:

• Small molecule drug that is structurally different from anti-cancer agents currently on the market
• Potent anti-tumor efficacy against various carcinoma xenograft models: lung, breast, colon, prostate and squamous cell carcinoma, and in a leukemia tumor model.  
• Anti-tumor activity in multi-drug resistant tumor models. 
• Efficacy was either equivalent to or greater than standard chemotherapeutic agents, given at approximately equitoxic doses.
• In  a human head and neck cancer xenograft model in combination with local radiation, the delay in tumor growth was significantly increased by 36 days  when Kevetrin was administered in conjunction with radiation, more than two-fold compared to controls.
• In GLP toxicology and safety pharmacology  tests, Kevetrin was well tolerated.

We are now conducting additional studies to allow us to request permission from FDA to begin studies in humans.

Kevetrin is a small molecule that is different in structure from all currently marketed cancer drugs.  It is water-soluble and simple to synthesize from commercially available starting materials.  We expect that it will initially be administered as an intravenous (IV) product.
 

Cellceutix filed a patent application covering Kevetrin in May, 2009.  The patent application claims pharmaceutical formulations of Kevetrin in addition to novel compounds having similar structures to Kevetrin that may have potential as drug development candidates. The application also covers the use of Kevetrin and the other compounds in various disease states, including cancers.

In mice, Kevetrin showed a biphasic time vs. drug concentration curve with an elimination half-life of about 2.2 hours.
 

• Drug-Resistant Cancer Cell Lines
  
  One of the main causes of failure in the treatment of cancer is the development of drug resistance by the cancer cells.  Kevetrin has been studied against several drug-resistant cancer cell lines.
  • Lung Cancer
    Kevetrin has been studied in animal models using a number of drug-resistant cell lines.  Kevetrin was studied in two cell lines of multi-drug resistant lung cancer.  In two studies with the A549 cell line, Kevetrin showed average tumor growth delay of 72% and average tumor volume reduction of 81% compared to controls.  Both tumor growth delay and tumor volume reduction were also significantly greater with Kevetrin than with paclitaxel (Taxol) (p<0.001).
    Please click here to see a more detailed summary of these studies.
    
    In two studies with the NCI-H1975 cell line of multi-drug resistant lung cancer, Kevetrin showed average tumor growth delay of 149% and tumor volume reduction of 94% compared to controls.  Both tumor growth delay and tumor volume reduction were greater with Kevetrin than with paclitaxel (p<0.001).
      Please click here to see a more detailed summary of these studies.
     
  • Breast Cancer
    In tests on two multi-drug resistant non-small-cell lung carcinoma human cell lines, A549 and NCI-H1975 -in each cell line- tumor volume was reduced by more than 90% and tumor growth was delayed by more than 100%. In addition, both the tumor volume reduction and the tumor growth delay were greater in each cell line with Kevetrin than with paclitaxel (brand name Taxol�) (p<0.01).
    In animal model testing on a taxane-resistant, estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer human cell line, MDA-MB-435s, tumor volume was reduced by 72% and tumor growth was delayed by more than 52% with Kevetrin when compared with paclitaxel (Taxol) (p<0.01) or with cisplatin (p<0.01).
    Please click here to see a more detailed summary of these studies.
     
  • Colon Cancer
    Kevetrin showed tumor growth delay of 43% compared to controls and paclitaxel when tested on animals with HCT-15 P-glycoprotein drug resistant colon cancer.
    Please click here to see a more detailed summary of these studies.
     
• Other Cancer Cell Lines
  • Head and Neck Cancer
    Please click here to see a more detailed summary of these studies.
    
    Kevetrin was studied in multiple experiments alone and in conjunction with radiation against the SCC-15 cell line of head and neck cancer.  Kevetrin alone showed an average tumor growth delay of 45% compared to controls, similar to radiation alone.  When administered in conjunction with radiation, Kevetrin showed an average tumor growth delay of 116%.
     
  • Colon Cancer
    
    Kevetrin was studied in two experiments alone and in combination with 5-FU against the HT-29 cell line of colon cancer.   Kevetrin alone demonstrated average tumor growth delay of 43% compared to controls.  5-FU alone showed an average tumor growth delay of 20%.  The combination of Kevetrin and 5-FU resulted in an average tumor growth delay of 97%.
     
  • Breast Cancer
    
    In a study with the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line, Kevetrin demonstrated tumor growth delay of 90% compared to controls. 
     
  • Prostate Cancer
    
    Kevetrin was studied against the PC-3 cell line of prostate cancer.  In two studies, Kevetrin demonstrated an average tumor growth delay of 54% compared to controls, while cisplatin showed an average tumor growth delay of 49%. 
    
     

Kevetrin is a small molecule easily synthesized from commercially available starting materials.  A patent application has been filed covering pharmaceutical formulations and uses of Kevetrin  Kevetrin has been extensively studied in animal models of cancer, including several drug-resistant cell lines.  It has consistently shown activity as good as or better than standard therapies. In drug-resistant cell lines, Kevetrin has shown excellent activity, indicating potential for development as a treatment for drug-resistant cancers.  Kevetrin has generally been well tolerated by the test animals, as evidenced by GLP toxicology and safety pharmacology studies.