Medical firm NeoRx has announced that it has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to develop a new platinum based cancer treatment.

The company is to conduct a Phase II clinical trial of NX 473, its next generation platinum product for the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Under the tests a total of 120 patients with SCLC who have proved resistant to previous treatment will be given the new platinum therapy.

Jerry McMahon, chairman and chief executive officer of NeoRx, said the firm had now begun a long-term process which would hopefully end in the commercialisation of the treatment.

"Our first IND for NX 473 represents a significant step toward our goal to develop and commercialize a diverse pipeline of oncology products," he said.

"Our plan is to initiate the lung cancer Phase II trial in the first half of 2005, followed by a pilot study with NX 473 for the treatment of colorectal cancer."

The new NX 473 platinum-based compound has been designed as an alternative to existing platinum compounds, some of which result in toxicity in the kidney and peripheral nervous system.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States according to the American Cancer Society, with around 160,000 expected to die from the disease in 2004.