Danish cancer specialist TopoTarget has started a Phase I clinical study of PXD101, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancers.

Interest in this class of compound has been in the ascendancy of late as it has emerged that compounds with this activity can inhibit transcriptional activity involved in angiogenesis and cell cycling, as well as promote programmed cell death (apoptosis) and differentiation. This profile would make them strong contenders in the $2 billion (€1.7bn) market for cytostatic drugs.

The trial is being carried out by investigators at the Royal Marsden Hospital in England and the Western Infirmary in Scotland. It will look at intravenous administration of PXD101 in 24-36 patients and, in addition to standard clinical evaluations of safety and efficacy, clinicians will monitor pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic responses.

Dr Peter Buhl Jensen, CEO of TopoTarget, said: "Histone deactylase inhibition is an exciting new approach to cancer therapy and PXD101 has shown efficacy in preclinical models, with a much improved toxicity profile when compared to standard chemotherapeutic agents."