BEVERLY, MA-(Marketwire - May 23, 2011) - Cellceutix Corporation (OTCQB: CTIX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat unmet medical conditions, announced today that in light of recent exceptional preclinical results regarding Kevetrin™, the Company believes it would be in its shareholders’ best interest to test Kevetrin™ against a very aggressive cancer that would be more beneficial to patients and generate more useful data for its IND filing. Cellceutix has therefore initiated a study in an animal model implanted with human pancreatic cancers. The study is expected to be completed by mid-June, with the updated IND expected to be filed shortly thereafter. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is among the most aggressive of all cancers and has one of highest mortality rates in cancer patients today. Pancreatic cancer is also relatively resistant to medical treatment which makes it an ideal research target for Kevetrin™. Cellceutix previously disclosed exceptional results in pre-clinical testing of Kevetrin™ on different cancers including head and neck cancers, leukemia, and drug resistant lung, breast, and colon cancers.

Cellceutix Chief Executive Officer, Leo Ehrlich, stated, “Since we discovered the connection of Kevetrin™ to p53, known as the ‘guardian angel gene,’ we have conducted research that has provided crucial data which will be helpful towards designing our clinical trials. We are anxious to file the IND, but feel that an additional study to test Kevetrin™ against pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously difficult to treat, was important enough to wait with the IND and file only one month later. Unlike so many therapies that are only effective against one specific cancer, Kevetrin™ is showing the potential to be helpful in treating multiple strains of cancers and control tumors that have proven resistant to present therapies. We have decided that pancreatic cancer is important enough to be added to the ever-growing list of potential target cancer candidates. Our preclinical data to date gives us confidence that we have potentially one of the world’s leading compounds in development to fight cancers. Anti-Cancer compounds are the world’s top selling drug category, with $22.3 billion in U.S. sales last year, up from $15.8 billion in 2006, with billions more in sales internationally. Waiting a few weeks now can have a greater impact later on in clinical trials. It is full speed ahead. ”

Cellceutix Corporation (CTIX) Stock Quote and News: