Initial results of a Phase I study of Celltech Group plc's humanantibody CDP 671 showed it specifically targeted the tumors in eightpatients with confirmed ovarian cancer.The results were reported Friday at the meeting of the InternationalResearch Group on Immunoscintigraphy and Immunotherapy inVelden, Australia. On average, 6.6 times more antibody, administeredat 0.1 mg/kg, was bound to tumor tissue than to a range of normaltissue in the patients. CDP 671 also successfully imaged the tumormass in six of eight patients.Celltech of Slough, England, already has investigated five patients atthe higher dose of 1 mg/kg in order to expand its potential to targetcytotoxic drugs, Celltech spokeswoman Roya Nasser told BioWorld.CDP 671 is a recombinant human antibody that recognizes a proteinantigen that is overexpressed on the surfaces of cells of cancers ofepithelial origin. The company plans to begin a pilot Phase IItherapeutic study later this year or early next, subject to regulatoryapproval.

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