NZ women to join breast cancer drug experiment

Five New Zealand women with recurring breast cancer are to be injected with an experimental drug, then have breast tissue removed so the effects of the drug on their tumours can be assessed.

Provectus Pharmaceuticals announced yesterday in Knoxville, Tennessee, that it would begin recruiting patients as experimental subjects.

It had obtained clearance for the phase 1 clinical trial of PV-10 - which it plans to market as Provecta - to evaluate the drug's safety and efficacy.

"PV-10 will be injected into one or more tumours in each subject, and the local response to this single injection observed for a period of one to three weeks," it said.

The New Zealand women would then have their tumours cut off to "assess the effects of PV-10 in breast cancer tissue and surrounding normal tissue".

The company said Christchurch was becoming one of the world's leading research centres specialising in early studies of new anti-cancer drugs.

Clearance has been given by a local ethics committee and by Medsafe, the Health Ministry agency responsible for regulation of therapeutic goods.

Enrolment of patients would begin immediately.

The company has promoted PV-10 as an agent that is retained in tumour cells while leaving normal tissue unharmed, killing the tumour cells and sparing healthy tissue.

That trial is for 20 people over 12 to 24 weeks.

- NZPA