Keystone Nano said today that it has begun clinical testing for its ceramide NanoLiposome cancer therapy. The Phase I trial plans to evaluate the company’s NanoLiposome as a targeted treatment for solid tumors.

Ceramide is a lipid that has demonstrated efficacy in liver cancer, breast cancer, leukemia and pancreatic cancer. Preclinical evidence has shown that the NanoLiposome is an effective delivery system for the bioactive compound, targeting cancer cells and ignoring healthy cells, according to the State College, Penn.-based company.

Keystone reported that the Phase I trial will recruit patients with solid tumors to establish dosing and safety, while the Phase II study will focus on liver cancer.

“I am very pleased this has reached the clinic.  Primary liver cancer is a devastating disease with incredibly poor outcomes and very few treatment options,” Keystone Nano’s chief medical officer Mark Kester said in prepared remarks.  “Ceramide NanoLiposome offers the potential to increase treatment options for these patients.”

“This is the first step in achieving one of the primary goals of Keystone Nano, to apply nanotechnology to create new therapeutic opportunities that cannot be pursued without our novel nanoscale platforms,” chief science officer James Adair added.

In January, Keystone Nano won orphan drug status for the treatment of liver cancer with ceramides.