PARAMUS, NJ., February 1-- AkaRx, Inc., a Paramus, New Jersey biopharmaceutical company announced today that they have licensed from BeartownPharma, Inc., of Underhill, Vermont the patents for a new drug being developed for the treatment of patients with thyroid cancer. The drug, AKR-201, (tetraiodothyroacetic acid / "tetrac") is a metabolite of thyroid hormone.
The agreement calls for upfront and milestone payments to be made to BeartownPharma as well as royalty on net sales of the product.
AkaRx will develop AKR-201 for the management of patients with follicular or papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.
Patients with carcinoma of the thyroid gland are currently treated by surgically removing their thyroid gland and subsequently administering radioactive iodine to eliminate remaining thyroid cancer cells. They are then given daily thyroid hormone to replace their natural thyroid hormone.
Often, the amount of thyroid hormone given is higher than what is needed to replace their natural thyroid hormone. These suppressive doses are given to shut down the production in the pituitary gland of a hormone called TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone and can also stimulate the growth of residual thyroid cancer cells. Suppression of TSH can reduce this effect. However, patients treated with suppressive doses of thyroid hormone are, in effect, hyperthyroid and have the associated risks of heart rhythm abnormalities (atrial fibrillation) and loss of bone density (osteoporosis).
AKR-201 is expected, in combination with replacement doses of thyroid hormone, to suppress production of TSH without causing the side effects of hyperthyroidism.
There are approximately 350,000 patients who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the United States with an estimated 30,000 newly diagnosed cases per year.
AkaRx plans to file an IND with the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials with AKR-201 by the middle of 2007.
Additional information can be obtained at www.akarx.com or by contacting John Gregg at (201) 909-3049 / gregg@akarx.com.