Products > Development
Acacia has a commercially-led discovery & development process. The process is driven by the company’s focus within supportive care, and looks for poorly treated conditions of interest and the unmet medical needs within these conditions. The process also takes into account the results of specifically commissioned market research along with the perceived development path within a condition as well as the likelihood of Acacia identifying product opportunities meeting the target product profile.
APD 405 – nausea & vomiting
APD 405 is an injectable formulation of a currently marketed oral drug, for the new use of nausea & vomiting. It is initially being developed in post-operative nausea & vomiting (PONV) and will be investigated in chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) once clinical proof-of-concept has been demonstrated. PONV occurs in approximately 35% of all surgical patients (there are >130 million surgical procedures per annum) and 70% of high risk patients and is a major concern in patients facing surgery or anaesthesia. Risk factors for PONV include age, gender, body weight, type of surgery and types of drugs administered. PONV is currently treated using a multimodal approach, including the use of combination pharmacotherapy. Despite this about a third of patients given prophylaxis require rescue therapy in the first 6 hours after surgery and 40% in the first 24 hours.
APD 405 is currently in preclinical development. Clinical studies are planned 3Q 2008.
APD 209 – cancer cachexia
APD 209 comprises an oral formulation of a currently marketed drug, for the new use of cancer cachexia. The word "cachexia" comes from the Greek words "kakos" and "hexis", meaning "bad conditions". Cachexia is a complex metabolic status with progressive weight loss and depletion of host reserves of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Cachexia should be suspected if involuntary weight loss of greater than five percent, relative to premorbid weight, occurs within a six-month period. Involuntary weight loss, tissue wasting, poor performance, and ultimately death are features of cancer cachexia. It is a condition of advanced protein calorie malnutrition. Cachexia is one of the most debilitating and life-threatening aspects of cancer. It increases in prevalence from 50% to more than 80% before death and in more than 20% of patients is the main cause of death.
APD 209 is in preclinical development.