Evgen Pharma PLC (AIM:EVG) has said it will present findings next week from an ongoing collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome evaluating the anti-tumour activity of its SFX-01 drug candidate, which has so far shown the ability to reduce tumour cell growth.
The collaboration with Professor Francesco Marampon and Dr Simona Camero at the university is providing further insight into the mechanisms by which SFX-01 exerts its antitumour effects and its potential for use alongside radiotherapy, the company said.
Professor Marampon and Dr Camero are carrying out the first evaluation of the anti-tumour activity of SFX-01 in two preclinical cellular models of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) tumours. RMS is the most frequent soft tissue sarcoma in childhood and is mostly diagnosed in children under 10 years old.
The in vitro data showed SFX-01 reduced tumour cell growth by stopping the G2 cell cycle and triggering early cell death, Evgen said in a stock market statement, even in clinically relevant radioresistant RMS cells.
SFX-01 was also shown to be effective on its own and in combination with radiotherapy, where it was found to create a more positive outcome than would be expected by simply adding the two agents together.
The reduction in tumour cell growth in clinically relevant radioresistant RMS cells was shown to drastically inhibit the formation of cancer stem cell-derived tumourspheres, the company said.
“We are particularly interested to see the effects on radioresistant cells since resistance to radiotherapy is a significant challenge for treatment in metastatic disease. If these findings translate to the clinic, SFX-01 could be highly impactful for patients with this hard-to-treat disease,” he said.
A poster presentation will be made at the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress in Switzerland showing the data in more detail.
Professor Marampon is based in the department of radiotherapy at Sapienza University of Rome, while Dr Camero is part of Francesca Megiorni's research group at the university’s department of experimental medicine.