PharmaGap Inc. has released positive initial testing results for its newest drug, just a week after announcing that its lead cancer drug had been shown to effectively treat breast and colon cancer in animal subjects.

The Ottawa-based biopharmaceutical company said it had seem some success in in vitro testing of its new protein kinase C theta (PKC theta) inhibitor drug, which the company intends to use to treat sarcomas or cancers of supportive and connective tissue such as bone, cartilage or fat.

The drug aims to regulate the activity of protein kinase enzymes, since disregulated kinase activity is a frequent cause of diseases, ranging from diabetes, cardiac disease and Alzheimer's.

Dr. Gary Schwartz of New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, who is directing the testing of the drug, is conducting the project at the same time as research for PharmaGap's lead PhG-alpha-1 drug candidate, which is a PKC alpha inhibitor also used to treat cancer.

The company last week reported "statistically significant" preclinical results for PhG-alpha-1 in treating human breast and colon cancers implanted into mice, and in May 2007 it said the drug had been shown to increase the effectiveness of a commonly used chemotherapeutic treatment by 50 per cent.

"I look forward to continuing my collaboration with PharmaGap for this exciting new compound, as it holds the promise of new treatment alternatives in the future for sarcoma patients," said Dr. Schwartz in a statement. "Selectively targeting PKC theta may provide therapheutic benefits not provided by current treatments."

PharmaGap said it has also designed and is preparing to synthesize and test drugs to inhibit PKC epsilon, which causes Alzheimer's.