Race’s Israel trial treats first patient with Bisantrene

Race Oncology is pleased to announce it has successfully completed treatment on its first patient at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel as part of its Bisantrene trial at the facility.

The patient diagnosed with relapsed/refractory Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) has completed a seven-day course of treatment with Bisantrene without any major complications.

“This is a major milestone for Race, because it’s the first treatment with Bisantrene since the drug disappeared more than 25 years ago,” said Race Oncology CEO Peter Molloy. 

Bisantrene was lost after a series of mergers in the early 1990s, despite its potential as a treatment for AML. Race has rescued Bisantrene and is developing it for treating relapsed or refractory AML.

“We sincerely hope that the treatment will assist this patient and those that follow in this important clinical trial,” said Race Oncology Chief Medical Officer Dr Samar Al-Behaisi.

“I am excited that Bisantrene is finding real clinical use again after such a long dormancy,” said Dr Al-Behaisi.

This is the first patient of 12 to be recruited as part of the Bisantrene trial at Sheba Medical Center, led by highly-regarded international haematologist Professor Arnon Nagler.

Race Oncology has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) to conduct a US registration trial. Race is also pursuing investigator-initiated Phase II trials, such as this one at Sheba Medical Center. 

The trial has been approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Sheba Medical Center’s Research Ethics Committee. 

The agreement between with the Sheba Medical Center was announced by Race Oncology on 14 May 2019.