Evgen Pharma PLC (AIM:EVG) said its collaborative research with Sapienza University of Rome has confirmed the potential of lead asset SFX-01 to augment the effects of radiation therapy in treating Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) - a type of soft tissue cancer seen in children.
For the lay reader, a radio-sensitising agent such as SFX-01 can amplify the impact of radiation therapy on tumour cells, thereby increasing the overall effectiveness of the treatment.
The research was steered by Professor Francesco Marampon of the Department of Radiotherapy and Dr Simona Camero of the Department of Experimental Medicine.
Earlier this year, at the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress, the team revealed that SFX-01 could stifle the growth of RMS tumour cells in lab tests, both as a standalone drug and when used alongside radiation therapy - a reaction described as 'synergistic.'
The recent study expands on this, demonstrating that SFX-01 continues to perform impressively in a live setting, using a mouse model of RMS. The evaluation explored the impact of the orally administered drug on patient-derived RMS tumour cells, in a live model.
The results suggest that SFX-01, when administered orally once a day, can decrease the growth of tumour masses by itself.
Additionally, when combined with radiation therapy, it proved to be synergistic, leading to significantly improved results compared with what might have been expected from administering the two treatments.
The findings from both studies are now being prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed publication.
Dr Helen Kuhlman, chief business officer at Evgen, said: "The collaboration with Professor Marampon's group continues to generate very encouraging data on SFX-01 as a radiosensitising agent - demonstrating the possibilities for SFX-01 wherever radiotherapy is used as standard of care.
"Our clinical work has shown that SFX-01 is safe and well tolerated, so its potential to enhance the effects of radiotherapy without causing additional therapeutic burden on patients is highly exciting."