22 July 2014 - 22 July 2014 - French anticancer therapies developer Erytech Pharma (EPA:ERYP) said Tuesday it had recruited the first participant in a US Phase I/II trial of ERY-ASP, its lead product, for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The dose-escalating trial is aimed at validating the safety profile of ERY-ASP in 12 to 18 patients with ALL. The trial was approved by the US FDA last year and the University of Chicago, Duke University Medical Center and Ohio State University are now open for patient accrual.

ERY-ASP, also known as Graspa in Europe, is an L-asparaginase product, with a safer and broader range of clinical use compared with existing forms due to the entrapment and protection of the enzyme inside red blood cells. In Europe, the therapy is being investigated in a Phase III study in relapsing ALL, in Phase IIb in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in Phase II in pancreas cancer.