AVEO Initiates First Clinical Trial of Novel HGF Antagonist

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and recommended dose of SCH900105 (AV-299), its highly potent antibody to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), administered intravenously in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors or lymphoma.

SCH900105 (AV-299) is being developed in collaboration with Schering-Plough. Under the terms of the agreement, human dosing with SCH900105 (AV-299) triggers a $3.0 million milestone payment from Schering Plough to AVEO.

“We are pleased to announce the initiation of clinical trials of SCH900105 (AV-299),” stated Tuan Ha-Ngoc, president and chief executive officer of AVEO.

Ha-Ngoc continued, “Working with Schering-Plough, our research teams have made rapid progress with this novel antibody. The cMET/HGF pathway is one of the most promising in cancer research. We believe that SCH900105 (AV-299) has the potential to be the best-in-class anti-HGF antibody. Our proprietary Human Response Platform (HRP™) promises to provide us with tools to move SCH900105 (AV-299) forward rapidly in clinical development.”

HGF is the soluble ligand for the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase. Preclinical studies have provided strong evidence that signaling through the HGF/c-Met pathway mediates several cellular functions involved in tumor growth and metastasis, such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, survival, migration, and invasion.

Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between high HGF levels and poor prognosis in a wide variety of human malignancies including gastric, breast, and lung, suggesting that targeting HGF may provide a novel way of treating a broad range of cancers.