Faron Pharmaceuticals Limited (AIM:FARN, OTC:FPHAF) has provided an in-depth analysis of highly encouraging data from 10 hard-to-treat patients administered its cancer immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
Chief executive Dr Markku Jalkanen said the data provided evidence of a "deep and durable" response to the regimen.
Focusing on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), the study assessed patients who had previously failed standard treatments and revealed a remarkable 100% response rate to a new combination involving bexmarilimab and azacitidine.
Now in its second phase, the BEXMAB trial is exploring the effectiveness of bexmarilimab, an investigational immunotherapy drug.
This trial is particularly significant as it targets a patient group with MDS, an aggressive form of leukaemia that typically has limited treatment options. The study’s recent success shines a light on the potential of bexmarilimab in combination with standard care therapies.
The early cohort of the trial comprised 10 and was split into two: higher-risk frontline MDS patients and those who had failed to respond to hypomethylating agents (HMAs).
As mentioned above, each subgroup had a 100% response rate following the treatment combination.
The analysis revealed that the HMA-failed patient group, which responded well to the treatment, had previously undergone extensive and varied treatments.
These included up to four different therapies, often involving azacitidine or decitabine, combined with other drugs like magrolimab, venetoclax, and sabatolimab.
Despite these varied treatments, three of the five patients in this group were refractory, showing no response or disease progression. The other two patients had relapsed after initial responses.
Faron's innovative approach, termed 'CLEVER', aims to reprogramme immune cells to combat cancer more effectively.
"This analysis shows the deep and durable responses that can be achieved with bexmarilimab in combination with standard of care, in MDS patients who are refractory to HMA therapy or who have relapsed on HMA therapy or HMA/venetoclax combination therapy," said Jalkanen.