Faron Pharmaceuticals Limited (AIM:FARN) will share its encouraging interim findings from its phase II BEXMAB trial during a poster presentation at the 66th American Society of Haematology (ASH) Annual Meeting later Tuesday.
The study is investigating the use of bexmarilimab in combination with azacitidine to treat myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a blood cancer that disrupts normal blood cell production. It focuses on patients whose disease has relapsed or who have not responded to prior treatments.
Interim results showed an 80% overall response rate, with 16 out of 20 patients exhibiting significant improvements. Of these, 70% achieved complete response, marrow remission, or partial response, suggesting notable recovery of bone marrow function.
Additionally, four patients have progressed to undergo potentially curative bone marrow transplants. The median survival for this group is estimated at 13.4 months.
The combination therapy was well-tolerated, with no significant safety concerns identified. Bexmarilimab’s mechanism of action involves targeting the Clever-1 protein in bone marrow cells, which enhances the immune system by increasing the presence of CD8 T cells and natural killer cells that attack cancer.
Faron views these results as an important milestone in advancing treatment options for MDS, a condition with limited available therapies. A webinar discussing these findings further was scheduled for the same day as the presentation.
CEO, Dr Juho Jalkanen, said: "With this compelling evidence, we are well positioned to advance to the full Phase 2 efficacy readout and actively pursue further regulatory interactions to navigate and refine the pivotal pathway for BLA [biologics license application] filing."