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news.US-based biopharmaceutical firm Dicerna Pharmaceuticals has started a Phase I dose-escalating clinical trial of its drug candidate DCR-MYC, (also known as DCR-M1711), in patients with solid tumors, multiple myeloma, or lymphoma.
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DCR-MYC is a Dicer Substrate siRNA (DsiRNA) that targets the driver oncogene MYC, which is central to the growth of many hematologic and solid tumor malignancies.
The company is investigating DCR-MYC in several tumor types with the initial focus on hepatocellular carcinoma.
Dicerna chief medical officer Pankaj Bhargava said in preclinical studies, DCR-MYC showed impressive knockdown of the MYC oncogene.
"The Phase 1 trial of DCR-MYC now provides us the opportunity to test these promising data in clinical trials, furthering our efforts to realize the significant therapeutic potential of Dicer Substrate RNA interference," Bhargava said.
The multi-center, dose-escalating trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of DCR-MYC in patients with solid tumors, multiple myeloma, or lymphoma who are refractory or unresponsive to standard therapies.
In the trial, DCR-MYC will be administered by one hour intravenous (IV) infusion, once weekly for three weeks followed by a rest week.
The goals of the trial are to identify the maximum tolerated dose as well as investigate the pharmacokinetic profile, potential pharmacodynamic effects, and antitumor activity of DCR-MYC.
Image: DCR-MYC is being studied in several tumor types with the initial focus on hepatocellular carcinoma. Photo: courtesy of renjith Krishnan/ freedigitalphotos.net