Shares in CRISM Therapeutics rose 18% in early trading after the company received positive feedback from the UK regulator on its planned clinical trial for ChemoSeed, a targeted chemotherapy treatment for high grade glioma.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed that CRISM will not need to carry out additional preclinical toxicology studies, cutting an estimated £400,000 from development costs and speeding up the path to human trials.
The MHRA also backed the company’s phase II dose escalation trial design and acknowledged the biological rationale for ChemoSeed, highlighting the need for more treatments and delivery methods for this aggressive brain cancer.
CRISM said it is now finalising its clinical trial authorisation application for submission in the first half of 2025, with trials expected to begin in the final quarter of the year. It has also appointed Ryan LLC to help secure grant funding to support the study.
In the first hour of trading, the stock was up 1.69p at 11.19p.