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Faron Pharma reports solid progress with phase I/II cancer trial; plans further studies

Published: 07:56 23 Nov 2020 GMT

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd -

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) said it was seeing “exciting clinical activity across multiple cancer types” from its phase I/II treatment bexmarilimab, formerly Clevegen.

It also said plans were underway for three new trials using the Faron discovery. In the first instance, it will be used in patients with colorectal cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma as what’s called a neoadjuvant, which is used to shrink tumours before mainline treatment.

Researchers are also assessing bexmarilimab’s use alongside a checkpoint inhibitor drug in lung cancer and they are looking at its potential use in the blood-borne forms of the disease such as acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

Meanwhile, in an update on the progress of its ongoing MATINS phase I/II clinical trial, which is investigating the tolerability, safety and efficacy of bexmarilimab across ten different hard-to-treat solid tumour cohorts, Faron reported significant progress.

Latest data from four groups - cutaneous melanoma, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC), and hepatocellular cancer - have demonstrated “early signs of efficacy” from bexmarilimab as a single therapy.

This group of patients will now move from Part I to Part II of the trial.  Of the groups still in Part II, uveal melanoma, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma are now fully recruited, Faron said.

The rest are between 50%-90% recruited, except anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, which is a new cohort awaiting enrolment of the first patient, investors were told.

"Bexmarilimab is rapidly advancing through the development and its exciting clinical activity across multiple cancer types continues to give us confidence in this asset's potential as a next generation immunotherapy with broad opportunities,” said Faron chief executive, Dr Markku Jalkanen in a statement.

“With the data we have seen to date, we are pleased to expand our bexmarilimab development programme, giving us the opportunity to explore its potential to activate the immune system in early stage cancers and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, a study of high interest for everyone in the field."             

Faron Pharmaceuticals reports promising phase 1 results from BEXMAB study

Faron Pharmaceuticals Limited (AIM:FARN) chief executive Dr Markku Jalkanen joins Proactive's Stephen Gunnion with additional positive data from the Phase 1 study of the ongoing bexmarilimab (BEXMAB) trial that has moved into Phase 2 for higher-risk (HR) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients...

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