Athenex and Lilly Enter Clinical Collaboration Agreement

Athenex, Inc is conducting a Phase 1b study to evaluate the safety of oraxol (paclitaxel) in combination with Eli Lilly and Company’s  CYRAMZA® (ramucirumab) in patients with advanced gastric and esophageal cancer. “Oraxol is the first drug candidate from an innovative technology platform which enables the oral administration of a chemotherapy drug usually administered by the intravenous route (i.e., paclitaxel). The effect of the compound is limited to the intestinal cells, as it is not significantly absorbed in humans. Oral dosing of paclitaxel potentially provides longer drug exposure over a target drug concentration and may offer the opportunity for chronic chemotherapy, which will be evaluated for increased efficacy.”