CRO Medpace has signed a deal with Actinium Pharmaceuticals to push the drug developer's lead cancer treatment through late-stage development.
Actinium has tasked Medpace with managing a planned 150-patient Phase III trial for Iomab-B, the company's investigational treatment for refractory and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, or AML. With the FDA's blessing, Actinium has mapped out a plan to test whether its drug can lead to durable remissions and extend survival over the course of a year.
The two companies plan to begin enrollment in the first half of this year, Actinium said, planning to file Iomab-B for U.S. approval if the study comes up positive.
Medpace has been working to expand its presence on the market since changing private equity hands in a $915 million deal in 2014. European firm Cinven bought a controlling stake in the CRO from CCMP Capital Advisors, and Medpace has since grown to employ roughly 2,400 employees around the world, handling trials in more than 50 nations, according to the CRO.
The Actinium deal follows a similar agreement with NephroGenex ($NRX) signed in 2014, an arrangement that charged Medpace with handling Phase III development for a kidney disease therapy.
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