GlobeImmune starts cancer drug trial

LOUISVILLE – GlobeImmune Inc. has started a clinical trial to investigate the safety and tolerability of a new drug for patients with metastatic cancers.

The company hopes Tarmogen, GI-6207, will treat certain metastatic cancers, types of cancer that spread from one part of the body to another. This is the third Tarmogen product candidate to enter human clinical trials over the last four years.

Dr. James L. Gulley, director of the Clinical Trials Group LTIB at the National Cancer Institute, will be the principal investigator for the Phase I study funded by the institute.

.

Dr. Timothy Rodell, president and chief executive of GlobeImmune, said Tarmogens are designed to activate the immune system to recognize and attack cells with disease-specific characteristics such as carcinoembryonic antigen, a protein associated with tumors and the developing fetus. The trial will build on the company’s previous trials targeting pancreas and colon cancers.

Last year, GlobeImmune signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the institute and National Institutes of Health to jointly develop multiple product candidates intended to treat a variety of cancers. Carcinoembryonic antigen is the first cancer antigen to be targeted in human trials through the collaboration.

on Facebook on LinkedIn