Toxikon Corp. has completed toxicity studies in two species for Cellceutix Corp.’s Kevetrin, a compound in development for the treatment of resistant lung and breast cancers. Toxikon also performed safety pharmacology studies of Kevetrin in the central nervous system and the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

The tox studies, required for an IND filing, are designed to confirm that Kevetrin meets FDA safety requirements for clinical studies in humans. In animal studies, Kevetrin was found to significantly delay tumor growth in multi-drug resistant lung, breast and colon cancer cell lines.

“We are proud to have led these important toxicology studies and help Cellceutix achieve its goal of getting Kevetrin to human trials and, ultimately, to market,” said Dr. Laxman Desai, president and chief executive officer of Toxikon. “Toxikon is equipped to meet the industry’s anticancer and antiviral drug discovery demands. Along with safety studies, we can assist with synthesis of intermediates from milligrams to hundreds of grams,” added Dr. Desai.

“We are very delighted with the results of the toxicity studies performed at Toxikon,” said Dr. Krishna Menon, chief scientific officer at Cellceutix.“While we were confident that the results would be positive, it is always reassuring to see the actual results.We are also grateful to Toxikon for the high quality of their work and their excellent customer focus.We have now taken a major step forward toward our Phase I trial, to be conducted at a major cancer center in the Boston area.”