It was announced today that the first patient in the TERRAIN study received their first dose in the Phase 2 trial of the investigational drug MDV3100 . MDV3100 is a triple-acting oral androgen receptor antagonist that I have writing about as a drug “On The Horizon”. Triple-acting means that it blocks testosterone binding to the androgen receptor, impedes movement of the androgen receptor to the nucleus of prostate cancer cells (nuclear translocation) and inhibits binding to DNA.
In the trial it is administered along with bicalutamide (generic casodex) since it seems to work in cells that have become resistant to bicalutamide, a commonly used anti-androgen, in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer patients who have progressed while on LHRH analogue therapy or following surgical castration (castrate resistant patients).
“MDV3100 has been shown in preclinical studies to provide more complete suppression of the androgen receptor pathway than existing anti-androgens and the TERRAIN study provides the opportunity to investigate this finding further in a clinical setting,” said Lynn Seely, M.D., chief medical officer of Medivation. “MDV3100 is currently in Phase 3 testing for advanced prostate cancer, but our goal is to determine if MDV3100 can benefit men with prostat