The selection of GH501a was based upon positive results from pre-clinical testing at University of Colorado, Emory University, and recent confirmatory results by scientists at the University of Calgary and the National Cancer Institute.
This testing included both in vitro and in vivo studies in mice, including efficacy against the NCI 60 panel of cancer cell lines.
Both non small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer are particularly aggressive and deadly forms of cancer.
Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer face few therapeutic options and have 5-year survival rate of less than 25%. Similarly, the average median survival of all patients with pancreatic cancer is approximately 12 months.
GH501a was invented at the University of Colorado by Drs. Lajos Gera, Robert Hodges, Paul Bunn, and Dan Chan.
The Company's majority owned subsidiary, Colorado Cancer Therapeutics ("CCT"), currently holds an option to enter into an exclusive license with the University of Colorado to commercialize a new class of anti-cancer compounds that includes GH501a.
Together, Arch and CCT have up to January 1, 2012 to exercise the option before proceeding with the confirmation of a candidate compound for an Investigational New Drug (IND) filing.
Additionally, the Company announced it has named Dr. Daniel Muruve as Chief Science Officer. Dr. Muruve is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He is an AHFMR Clinical Senior Scholar and holds a Canada Research Chair.
