OXiGENE, Inc. - OXiGENE Announces First Patient Enrolled in Phase 2 Study of ZYBRESTAT in Patients With Ovarian Cancer (comparing Avastin alone)

"SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OXiGENE, Inc. (Nasdaq:OXGN), a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that clinical investigators have enrolled the first patient in a randomized Phase 2 trial of ZYBRESTAT in combination with bevacizumab in patients with relapsed ovarian cancer. The study, which is being conducted by investigators from the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), is expected to enroll approximately 105 patients with a primary endpoint of progression-free survival. OXiGENE expects results of the study to become available in early 2013.

"We believe that the combination of an anti-angiogenic agent with a vascular disrupting agent in the treatment of ovarian cancer has the potential to represent an entirely new treatment paradigm for patients with relapsed disease," said Bradley Monk, M.D., FACS, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology at Creighton University Hospital and lead investigator of the study."Patients with recurrent ovarian cancer have few therapeutic options, and ZYBRESTAT could become a valuable addition to current treatment modalities."

The study is being conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for ZYBRESTAT and a CRADA with Genentech for the development of bevacizumab. The aim of the trial, sponsored by the NCI's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, is to determine if the combination of ZYBRESTAT and bevacizumab will enhance anti-tumor effects and further delay tumor progression when compared to bevacizumab alone....."