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Philadelphia (Sept. 15, 2006) – ZK 304709, a novel drug that inhibits cancer cell growth, prevented breast cancer cells from spreading to bone and inhibited the growth of cancer that had already spread to bone in mice, according to data being presented today at the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

In seventy to eighty percent of patients with advanced breast cancer, the cancer spreads to bone, after which the disease is incurable.

Sanna-Maria Käkönen, Ph.D., and colleagues at Corporate Research Oncology at Schering AG, Berlin, Germany studied the effects of a daily oral dose of the inhibitor ZK 304709 in female mice injected with human breast cancer cells in two different study settings. In a preventive study, the treatment began on the same day as the introduction of breast cancer cells and lasted for 22 days, whereas in a therapeutic study, established tumors in bone were treated for nine days.

The researchers found that the inhibitor prevented breast cancer from spreading to bone and inhibited the growth of breast cancer that had already spread to bone. The compound also reduced the bone destruction induced by tumor growth.

ASBMR President-Elect Steve Goldring, M.D., notes: “This study is of significance because this drug may ultimately prove useful in inhibiting the spread of breast cancer to bone.”

Disclosures: Drs. Käkönen, Bosslet, and Siemeister are employees of Schering AG, Berlin Germany.

To obtain a copy of the scientific abstract, contact Stephanie West (contact information above).

The ASBMR Annual Meeting is the pre-eminent scientific meeting on bone and mineral metabolism. More than 5,000 delegates are expected to attend the September 15-19 meeting, where nearly 1,800 scientific abstracts are presented. The ASBMR is the premier professional, scientific and medical society established to promote excellence in bone and mineral research and to facilitate the translation of that research into clinical practice. The ASBMR has a membership of nearly 4,000 physicians, basic research scientists, and clinical investigators. To learn more about the Society and the field of bone and mineral research, visit the ASBMR website at www.asbmr.org.

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The ASBMR is the foremost professional, scientific and medical society for the promotion of bone and mineral research and the translation of that research into clinical practice. To learn more, visit the ASBMR website at www.asbmr.org.

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