Shares in CRISM Therapeutics rose 19% to 14p on Tuesday after the AIM-quoted drug delivery company reported positive preclinical results for its Docetaxel-ChemoSeed implant technology in a prostate cancer model, showing a 58% reduction in tumour volume compared to standard treatment.
The study evaluated CRISM's ChemoSeed platform, which delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to tumour sites in a sustained, localised manner rather than through systemic administration, the conventional approach in which drugs are distributed throughout the body via the bloodstream.
Docetaxel-ChemoSeed demonstrated consistent anti-tumour activity across multiple dose levels, a clear dose-response relationship, and a favourable tolerability profile, with no adverse effects or early terminations observed in any ChemoSeed-treated group.
By contrast, the standard-of-care systemic docetaxel arm was associated with reduced tolerability and multiple terminations during the study.
Chief scientific officer Chris McConville said delivering chemotherapy locally and continuously, rather than intermittently and systemically, provided a meaningful improvement in both efficacy and tolerability, and that the findings strongly support progression toward first-in-human clinical trials.
The company said it is actively seeking partners and collaborators to advance Docetaxel-ChemoSeed toward clinical evaluation.
Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer in men and represents the second programme in CRISM's pipeline using the ChemoSeed platform.
The company's lead programme, Irinotecan-ChemoSeed targeting glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer, remains on track for the first patients to be dosed in an open-label Phase 2 clinical trial in the first half of 2026.