Morphotek initiated a phase-I study of Morab-028, its experimental treatment for patients with advanced melanoma.
Phase-I studies are small clinical trials designed to test the safety of a new drug candidates in human patients.
The study of Morphotek’s cancer-fighting drug is taking place at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Calif.
Morphotek Inc. of Exton, Pa., specializes in the development of protein and antibody products using a proprietary gene-evolution technology. The company is a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., a division of Eisai Co. Ltd. of Japan.
Nicholas Nicolaides, president and CEO of Morphotek, said Morab-028 represents “another one of several antibodies being researched and developed by Morphotek that directly or indirectly targets pathways associated with certain cancers.”
Morphotek licensed technology relating to Morab-028 from Micromet Inc. (NASDAQ:MITI) of Bethesda, Md.
