Techniclone Gets FDA Approval

Techniclone Corp. received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials of its radioactive antibody for the treatment of malignant glioma, a type of brain tumor.

The company said it will use a low-pressure catheter to deliver the therapeutic agents to large regions of the brain.

The use of the system, pioneered by the National Institutes of Health, may increase drug uptake and lessen systemic leaking of antibodies from the brain.

The phase I trial will have as many as 24 patients. Techniclone, which develops cancer treatments, is collaborating on the development of the new treatment.