Redx Pharma Plc (LON:REDX) has commenced its Phase 1/2a cancer study for the Porcupine inhibitor RXC004.
The company said the first patient has now been dosed at The Christie hospital in Manchester.
READ: Redx Pharma gets UK go-ahead for first clinical trial of cancer treatment
Redx’s RXC004 is a novel, oral, potent small molecule Porcupine inhibitor, which targets the Wnt pathway, an embryonic signalling pathway that is implicated in the maintenance of cancer stem cells in multiple cancer types; this pathway is associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, recurrence and resistance in cancer.
Once the dose-finding Phase 1 element of the study is completed, the selected dose will then be used as a monotherapy in a larger number of patients with difficult to treat cancers (Phase 2a). In addition, the company will look to explore the potential of RXC004 in combination with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor following the completion of the safety and tolerability phase of this first in man clinical trial.
As previously mentioned, Redx expects initial data from the 1a segment of the trial in the second half of this year.
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"We are very excited by the potential of RXC004 to make a major difference in cancer treatment and intend to progress RXC004 initially as a monotherapy and thereafter in combination with a (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor through clinical development. We believe that RXC004 has great potential to treat some very challenging cancers that currently have very poor prognosis and we look forward to updating the market on our progress," said Ian Ross, Redx’s chairman.