Momenta Pharmaceuticals has announced positive results from a pre-clinical study of oncology drug candidate M402.

The study, the first to evaluate anti-tumour efficacy in an experimental murine melanoma metastasis model, showed that the single dose of M402 administered prior to tumour inoculation reduced tumour colonisation in the lung in a dose-dependent manner.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals chief scientific officer Ganesh Venkataraman said the results showed that M402, in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, inhibited spontaneous tumour metastasis and outgrowth of established tumours.

M402 in combination with cisplatin was shown to inhibit tumour cell metastasis to the lung compared to cisplatin alone.