A new platinum-based treatment for hormone refractory prostate cancer has won approval for a Phase 3 SPARC trial from the independent Data Monitoring Board (DMB).

The DMB said that after reviewing the evidence on the new treatment from biopharmaceutical firm GPC Biotech's earlier trials, it was convinced that the development of the drug remains "sound".

GPC Biotech says it is hoping to enrol patients in the next stage of the trial by the end of this year, potentially filing a New Drug Application (NDA) filing with the US Food and Drug Administration later in 2006.

The treatment is an enhanced version of Satraplatin, a drug belonging to the platinum family of compounds.

In the last 20 years platinum-based drugs have become an increasingly important part of chemotherapy treatments, with many now the standard choice of drug for a range of cancers.

In 2004 worldwide sales of platinum-based drugs topped $2.2 billion.