Percheron Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:PER, OTC:PERCF) has received A$1.43 million under the Australian Government’s Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive scheme for the 2025 financial year.
The rebate relates to eligible R&D expenditure incurred both domestically and overseas and will be used to advance development of the company’s lead asset, HMBD-002, a novel therapy in its oncology pipeline.
Percheron is currently formulating a comprehensive Clinical Development Plan for HMBD-002 in consultation with clinicians and strategic advisers. The company intends to resume clinical trials in calendar year 2026.
Further details on trial design and timelines are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2025.
Percheron unveils promising preclinical data for TNBC drug candidate
A few weeks ago, Percheron released new preclinical data supporting the potential of its investigational cancer therapy, HMBD-002, in treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive and hard-to-treat form of breast cancer.
The data, published in the journal Cancer Research, show that HMBD-002 was able to inhibit tumour growth in mouse models of TNBC, specifically in cases that overexpress the VISTA immune checkpoint. The findings build on earlier positive results for the drug in combination with radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).
Chief executive officer James Garner said: “This work provides important new insights into the relevance of VISTA in this very challenging and all-too-common cancer. There are few effective treatments for TNBC, and the disease represents one of the most significant areas of unmet need in cancer therapy.”
TNBC represents 10–15% of all breast cancer cases, with around 30,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States. These tumours are often resistant to existing therapies. Studies show that 25–30% of TNBC tumours express VISTA, a key driver of immune suppression and an emerging target for immunotherapy development.