BEVERLY, MA–(Marketwired – June 01, 2015) - Cellceutix Corporation (OTC: CTIX) (the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies with oncology, dermatology, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic applications, is pleased to announce that last week a second site opened enrollment in the Company’s Phase 2 clinical trial of Brilacidin-OM for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients undergoing chemoradiation. Clinical sites in Oregon and South Dakota are now enrolling patients to evaluate Brilacidin-OM for efficacy with additional sites to be added in June to keep the trial progressing in a timely manner.
More information on the trial can be found at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02324335?term=cellceutix&rank=2.
Besides targeting the huge unmet medical need for an effective therapeutic for oral mucositis, the Brilacidin-OM trial has significant implications for Cellceutix shareholders. Should the anti-inflammatory properties of Brilacidin-OM work in the trial as anticipated, Cellceutix will immediately turn its attention to inflammatory diseases, such as hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and gastrointestinal diseases, as planned. Cellceutix believes the potential market size for its defensin mimetics as anti-inflammatory compounds is even greater than the substantial market for antibiotic applications.
“We expect this trial of Brilacidin-OM to move efficiently and are very pleased to see another clinical site already open for enrolling patients,” commented Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer at Cellceutix. “As this trial is underway we are completing the formulation work for treating hidradenitis suppurativa. Actually, the timing couldn’t be better with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granting AbbVie an orphan drug designation for HUMIRA® (adalimumab) for the investigational treatment of moderate-to-severe HS. The designation answered many questions for us and is certainly something we will apply for as well in order to try and shave millions of dollars and years off the clinical trials.”
Cellceutix will be issuing a separate update on the events at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting shortly after its conclusion on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.