Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN, First North:FARON) has said it will share previously published clinical data on its lead cancer drug at a leading industry conference.
In a stock market announcement flagging up the poster presentation it also updated on the progress of the next stage of its phase I/II trial.
The former first: Safety and efficacy results from the MATINS trial are to be shared at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, which is being held as a virtual event this year.
The ASCO presentation will show Faron’s precision cancer immunotherapy Clevegen was well-tolerated without ‘dose-limiting toxicities’.
Immune cell activation was also seen along with downregulation of several checkpoint molecules. Clinical responses were observed.
“Despite the study patients’ very advanced stage of the disease and several lines of previous therapies, including PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors, the early results from this dose finding stage of the MATINS study are very encouraging for single agent efficacy,” said Dr Markku Jalkanen, Faron’s chief executive.
A total of 30 people with advanced solid tumours who had exhausted all standard options took part in the first part of the phase I/II MATINS trial.
The company said recruitment for part II was underway with patients undeterred by the coronavirus outbreak. Being assessed at three different dose levels are groups with nine different cancers and three separate colorectal cohorts.
Of these, the lowest dose group has already started treatment, with the additional two colorectal cohorts set to join the trial by mid-summer 2020.
The company said it intends to present data from these test cohorts (10 patients at each dosing levels) to the US Food & Drug Administration at the end-of-phase II meeting “to obtain advice ahead of expansion into the pivotal part III stage of the trial”.