Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the publication of positive data from a preclinical study demonstrating that combining COTI-2 with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents improves efficacy and exhibits a favorable drug resistance and toxicity profile in human cancer cell lines. These results were published in PLOS ONE under the title, Novel anti-cancer drug COTI-2 synergizes with therapeutic agents and does not induce resistance or exhibit cross-resistance in human cancer cell lines. The preclinical study, performed by Cotinga researchers and academic collaborators, evaluated COTI-2 in combination with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents through in vivo and in vitro experiments using human cancer cell lines. The study found that combining COTI-2 with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, particularly taxanes and platins, demonstrated enhanced cytotoxic activity and tumor growth inhibition in a variety of human cancer cell lines. Combination treatment with COTI-2 did not induce drug resistance, and drug-resistant cancer cell lines showed little or no cross-resistance to COTI-2. The various combination treatment regimens evaluated did not result in any overt signs of toxicity. Subject to sufficient financing, Cotinga plans to initiate basket, combination, and expansion studies in multiple oncology indications in 2018. The Company is also continuing to analyze results from the gynecological arm of its Phase 1 trial of COTI- 2 and expects to provide an update when further data are available in the first quarter of 2018. In addition, Cotinga is currently enrolling patients in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) dose-escalation arm of its Phase 1 trial of COTI-2, and expects to report initial safety data in the second quarter of 2018.