[citation needed] Due to negative results of the stand-alone Phase I trial, and knowledge that NAMI-A slows down progression of metastasis, and not growth of the initial tumor, Phase I & II trials were done using gemcitabine, a nucleoside analog that has shown to be successful in treating lung cancer.

32 patients were enrolled in the study all of which had a form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a median age of 57, most diagnosed as level III & IV of disease progression.

[9] Phase II trials were done to evaluate how NAMI-A in combination with gemcitabine impact cancer progression.

[citation needed] The patient who was observed to have a partial remission, occurred during the dose escalation phase I trial.

[citation needed] Contrary to what can be found in some papers, the nickname NAMI is not the acronym of “New Anticancer Metastasis Inhibitor”, but has a much more prosaic origin.

It was created by a student as a short-form name of the chemical formula of the complex: “NA” comes from the symbol for sodium and “MI” from the word imidazole.

The corresponding imidazolium salt was simply called NAMI-A to signify that it was an upgraded version of the prototype NAMI".