Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:PAR) has received more than $3.38 million as a Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive refund for the 2020 financial year.
The R&D Tax Incentive was accounted for as income in the company's FY20 accounts.
This Australian Government incentive encourages companies to engage in R&D benefiting Australia, by providing a tax offset of up to 43.5% (refundable) for eligible R&D activities.
Important for industry
PAR chief executive officer Paul Rennie said: “The Government’s continued investment in research and innovation is critically important to maintaining a strong local industry.
“In addition to the important contribution to health outcomes, the industry also provides significant economic growth and employment opportunities in Australia.”
Ethics approval for phase-2 clinical trial
Paradigm has recently received ethics approval for its phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the treatment effects of Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS) against placebo on synovial fluid biomarkers in participants with knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain.
The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study will investigate PPS or placebo treatment in a total of 60 patients with primary endpoint data expected to read out in the third quarter of 2021.
PAR hopes to provide further evidence that certain biomarkers are more prevalent in the synovial fluid of symptomatic OA patients with radiographic evidence of joint damage, determine if biomarker concentrations change in the synovial fluid with PPS treatment, and to assess possible disease-modifying effects of PPS on patients with knee OA pain.