BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXEL) today reported interim data from an ongoing phase 1 dose-escalation trial of XL147 (SAR245408) in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced solid tumors. XL147 is a selective, orally available small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K). Activation of the PI3K pathway is a frequent event in human tumors, promoting cell proliferation, survival, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Upregulation of PI3K signaling is associated with resistance to paclitaxel and carboplatin. Jennifer Wheler, MD from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, and an investigator on the phase 1 trial, will present the data in a poster session (Abstract #B247) beginning at 12:30 pm, local time, on Tuesday, November 17, 2009, at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, which is being held November 15-19 in Boston. XL147 is being developed with sanofi-aventis.
