SILVER SPRING, Md., May 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB:PMCB), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted treatments for cancer and diabetes using its signature live-cell encapsulation technology, Cell-in-a-Box®, today announced that PharmaCyte has commenced its search for a Principal Investigator for its Phase 2b clinical trial in advanced pancreatic cancer. PharmaCyte will be meeting with potential candidates at this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) being held in Chicago, Illinois, June 3-7, 2016.
PharmaCyte’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr Gerald W. Crabtree, commented, “It is crucial that the person selected for this important position be a recognized expert in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and someone who has had experience in multi-site clinical trials for this devastating disease. It is also an advantage if the person selected is familiar with the oncologists who will lead the efforts at the specific study sites. Therefore, it is imperative that PharmaCyte appoint the best available pancreatic cancer authority possible to the post of Principal Investigator to oversee the entire clinical trial.”
PharmaCyte plans to commence a Phase 2b clinical trial in the United States, with study sites in Europe, to meet a critical unmet medical need for patients who no longer benefit from the combination chemotherapies of Abraxane® + gemcitabine or FOLFIRINOX after 4-6 months of treatment and whose tumors are inoperable and non-metastatic. Currently, chemotherapy + radiation is used for such patients, but this treatment is only marginally effective and carries with it significant side effects. The goal of the trial is to show that PharmaCyte’s pancreatic cancer therapy can serve as a consolidation therapy that is better than the currently used therapy by exhibiting increased antitumor effectiveness and reduced side effects.
The Principal Investigator is a recognized expert in the area of oncology addressed in the clinical trial. This person serves as the general supervisor for the entire trial and acts as a mentor for the site investigators, protecting the rights, safety and welfare of the patients. The Principal Investigator also ensures that the trial is conducted at all study sites in compliance with the clinical trial protocol, procedures and regulations. In addition, the Principal Investigator plays a major role in developing the final study report of the results of the trial.
There is also an individual “site investigator” at each study site. That is usually the oncologist on site responsible for how the trial is conducted at that site. If a trial is conducted by a team of oncologists at a trial site, the site investigator is the responsible leader of the team that administers the treatments described in the clinical trial protocol and conducts treatment-related tests, protecting the rights, safety and welfare of the patients under the site investigator’s care. When tasks are delegated by a site investigator, the investigator is responsible for providing adequate supervision of those to whom tasks are delegated.
About PharmaCyte Biotech
PharmaCyte Biotech is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing and preparing to commercialize treatments for cancer and diabetes based upon a proprietary cellulose-based live cell encapsulation technology known as “Cell-in-a-Box®.” This technology will be used as a platform upon which treatments for several types of cancer and diabetes are being developed. PharmaCyte’s treatment for cancer involves encapsulating genetically modified live cells that convert an inactive chemotherapy drug into its active or “cancer-killing” form. These encapsulated live cells are placed as close to a cancerous tumor as possible. Once implanted in a patient, a chemotherapy drug which needs to be activated in the body (ifosfamide) is then given intravenously at one-third the normal dose. The ifosfamide is carried by the circulatory system to where the encapsulated cells have been placed. When the ifosfamide, which is normally activated in the liver, comes in contact with the encapsulated live cells, activation of the chemotherapy drug takes place at the source of the cancer without any side effects from the chemotherapy. This “targeted chemotherapy” has proven remarkably effective and safe to use in past clinical trials.
In addition to developing a novel treatment for cancer, PharmaCyte is developing a treatment for Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 insulin-dependent diabetes. PharmaCyte plans to encapsulate a human cell line that has been genetically engineered to produce, store and release insulin in response to the levels of blood sugar in the human body. The encapsulation will be done using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology.
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding PharmaCyte Biotech and its future events and results that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan” and similar expressions, as they relate to PharmaCyte or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors, many of which are beyond the control of PharmaCyte, could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. They include PharmaCyte’s ability to continue as a going concern, delays or unsuccessful results in preclinical and clinical trials, flaws or defects regarding its product candidates, changes in relevant legislation or regulatory requirements, uncertainty of protection of PharmaCyte’s intellectual property and PharmaCyte’s continued ability to raise capital. PharmaCyte does not assume any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.
More information about PharmaCyte Biotech can be found at www.PharmaCyte.com. It can also be obtained by contacting Investor Relations.
Investor Relations:
PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc.
Investor Relations Department
Telephone: 917.595.2856
Email: [email protected]
Source: PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc.
Released May 24, 2016
