Liposome Technology Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LTIZ) liposomalformulation of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin Doxil is able todeliver more drug to the disease site than the free version ofthe drug, and it appears to have a safety profile similar to thatof the unencapsulated drug, according to results presented lastweek at the annual meeting of the American Society of ClinicalOncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Fla.

The preclinical trials in 18 AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma(KS), demonstrated that Doxil delivers five to 11 times moredrug than comparable single doses of Adriamycin (freeunencapsulated doxorubicin). "We have demonstrated a 300-fold increase in the mean distribution half life of Doxil in bloodplasma compared to free drug," said Donald Northfelt, assistantclinical professor of medicine at the University of California,San Francisco.

"This permitted the extended circulation of the drug and,therefore, an increased opportunity for its accumulation attargeted disease sites through the leaky vasculature associatedwith tumors," he said.

And data from a Phase II study on 38 AIDS patients withadvanced KS lesions presented at ASCO by Frank Goebel of theUniversity of Munich demonstrated that Doxil is efficacious intreating these lesions: 95 percent of the patients achieved atleast a partial response with Doxil therapy. -- Jennifer VanBrunt

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.