Founded in 2000, Celator® Pharmaceuticals is developing advanced therapies to treat cancer. Based on a proprietary technology platform, research at Celator identifies synergistic ratios of drugs to improve tumor cell kill and locks the synergistic ratio in a drug delivery vehicle to maintain the ratio in patients. The goal of this approach is to improve the therapeutic benefit these drugs provide patients.

Many forms of cancer are currently treated with drug regimens that combine individual chemotherapeutic drugs. Because many drugs are toxic at certain levels, these “cocktails” are typically developed by combining drugs that have non-overlapping toxicity profiles and different mechanisms of action. In this way, individual drugs can be combined at their maximum dosing levels. This approach has represented the standard of care in oncology for decades. 

By focusing only on the impact of individual drugs, this standard has failed to recognize the critical role that drug ratios play in the effectiveness of combining chemotherapies. Research efforts led by Celator have shown that many combinations of chemotherapeutic drugs can act synergistically to kill cancer cells when combined and maintained at certain ratios. These same agents, when combined at other ratios can act antagonistically or with reduced clinical benefit. Celator's research and clinical development programs are based on the finding that the ratios used to create these drug regimens - and the ability to control those ratios systemically - can have a profound impact on their efficacy.

Celator's proprietary drug technology platform, CombiPlex®, has shown significant promise in identifying, delivering and maintaining synergistic ratios of chemotherapeutic drugs resulting in new drug product candidates. With this technology advantage, Celator is positioned to develop an expansive pipeline of novel chemotherapies based on this concept. Celator's current research focus involves the use of drugs that are already approved and used widely to treat cancer. The Company's lead product candidates are targeting acute myeloid leukemia and colorectal cancer. A preclinical program is exploring potential drug candidates for other tumor types. Click here to learn more about Celator's products.

The broad applications of the CombiPlex platform also position Celator to develop novel chemotherapies using experimental drugs and develop products that target a broader range of serious illnesses.