Compositions and methods to improve the therapeutic benefit of indirubin and analogs thereof, including meisoindigo

Abstract

The present invention describes methods and compositions for improving the therapeutic efficacy of therapeutically active agents previously limited by suboptimal therapeutic performance by either improving efficacy as monotherapy or reducing side effects. Such methods and compositions are particularly applicable to therapeutically active agents selected from the group consisting of: (i) indirubin; (ii) an analog of indirubin; (iii) a derivative of indirubin or of an analog of indirubin; and (iv) a pharmaceutical composition comprising indirubin, an analog of indirubin, or a derivative of indirubin or of an analog of indirubin, especially meisoindigo.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 614,724 by D. M. Brown, filed Mar. 23, 2012 and entitled “Compositions and Methods to Improve the Therapeutic Benefit of Indirubin and Analogs Thereof, Including Meisoindigo,” the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to the general field of hyperproliferative diseases including oncology with a focus on novel methods and compositions for the improved utility of chemical agents, compounds, and dosage forms previously limited by suboptimal human therapeutic performance including indirubin and analogs thereof, such as meisoindigo.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The search for and identification of cures for many life-threatening diseases that plague humans still remains an empirical and sometimes serendipitous process. While many advances have been made from basic scientific research to i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent relates to methods and compositions to improve the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemical compounds used in cancer therapy. The invention describes techniques to improve the performance of suboptimally administered chemical agents, including modifying factors or parameters related to the drug therapy. The invention also includes the use of drug delivery systems, prodrugs, polymer conjugates, and other agents to potentiate the activity of the compounds or inhibit the repair of suboptimal cellular effects. The patent claims that the invention can provide significant improvement in cancer therapy, particularly when used in conjunction with other therapeutic agents such as antibodies, vaccines, cytokines, lymphokines, gene and antisense therapies, or other chemotherapy or biotherapy agents.

Problems solved by technology

While many advances have been made from basic scientific research to improvements in practical patient management, there still remains tremendous frustration in the rational and successful discovery of useful therapies particularly for life-threatening diseases such as cancer, inflammatory conditions, infection, and other conditions.

However, from the tens of billions of dollars spent over the past thirty years supporting these programs both preclinically and clinically, only a small number of compounds have been identified or discovered that have resulted in the successful development of useful therapeutic products.

Unfortunately, many of the compounds that have successfully met the preclinical testing and federal regulatory requirements for clinical evaluation were either unsuccessful or disappointing in human clinical trials.

In other cases, chemical agents where in vitro and in vivo studies suggested a potentially unique activity against a particular tumor type, molecular target or biological pathway were not successful in human Phase II clinical trials where specific examination of particular cancer indications / types were evaluated in government sanctioned (e.g., U.S. FDA), IRB approved clinical trials.

In addition, there are those cases where potential new agents were evaluated in randomized Phase III clinical trials where a significant clinical benefit could not be demonstrated; such cases have also been the cause of great frustration and disappointment.

Finally, a number of compounds have reached commercialization but their ultimate clinical utility has been limited by poor efficacy as monotherapy (<25% response rates) and untoward dose-limiting side-effects (Grade III and IV) (e.g., myelosuppression, neurotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, gastrointestinal toxicities, or other significant side effects).

In many of those cases, the results did not realize a significant enough improvement to warrant further clinical development toward product registration.

Even for commercialized products, their ultimate use is still limited by suboptimal performance.

With so few therapeutics approved for cancer patients and the realization that cancer is a collection of diseases with a multitude of etiologies and that a patient's response and survival from therapeutic intervention is complex with many factors playing a role in the success or failure of treatment including disease indication, stage of invasion and metastatic spread, patient gender, age, health conditions, previous therapies or other illnesses, genetic markers that can either promote or retard therapeutic efficacy, and other factors, the opportunity for cures in the near term remains elusive.

For difficult to treat cancers, a patient's treatment options are often exhausted quickly resulting in a desperate need for additional treatment regimens.

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