Cancer drug developed in Lawrence shows promise in clinical trial

A cancer drug developed by a Lawrence biotech company showed positive results in treating abdominal cancers during a recent clinical trial at Kansas University Cancer Center, the cancer center announced Tuesday.

Nanotex, which was developed by Lawrence-based CritiTech, caused few side effects in patients with advanced peritoneal cancers during the recent phase 1 study, cancer center officials said. Nanotex is a reformulation of paclitaxel, the standard drug for treating ovarian cancer, which often causes allergic reactions.

“It is very exciting. The results of the phase 1 study are quite encouraging,” said CritiTech President Matt McClorey.

Stephen Williamson, KU medical director of cancer clinical trials, said the late-stage cancer patients participating in the study tolerated the treatment well.

“We didn’t see any significant side effects like you would expect to see with the administration of this drug,” he said. “The most common side effect was pain from administering the drug.”

Nanotex is injected in a single dose directly into the peritoneum, exposing tumors to high concentrations of the drug.

Williamson said he could envision the drug one day helping keep ovarian and other cancers in remission, but added that it is likely years away from reaching the market.