LipoplatinTM is the liposome encapsulated form of Cisplatin. Cisplatin is one of the most widely used and most effective cytotoxic agents in the treatment of epithelialmalignancies such as lung, head & neck, ovarian, bladder and testicular cancers. However, the continued clinical use is impeded by its severe adverse reactions including renal toxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, peripheral neuropathy, asthenia, ototoxicity and optic neuropathy.

Regulon has achieved a significant improvement (>90%), in the encapsulation of Cisplatin and has developed a reproducible manufacturing procedure.

Platinum complexes, particularly Cisplatin, have been frequently used in therapy against various types of cancers (Boulikas, T. and Vougiouka, M., (submitted for publication) despite the strong side-effects observed in patients. In this context, any improvements of platinum complexes, related to their efficacy or reduced toxicity, would be a major boost for cancer therapy.

LipoplatinTM has the following advantages compared to administration of Cisplatin:
• The cytotoxicity of LipoplatinTM is substantially reduced compared to Cisplatin, which means that higher concentrations can be administered
• LipoplatinTM stays in circulation for extended periods of time and the Cisplatin is slowly released
• LipoplatinTM can selectively target tissues with altered vascularization, therefore targeting primary tumors and metastases; this reduces the overall toxic effect on normal tissue
• The encapsulation technology seems to protect delivered compounds against host cell immune elimination responses.