Aion Therapeutic Inc (CSE:AION) has revealed that its proprietary and patented combinatorial mushroom preparations, AION F7 and AION F8, showed high efficacy in killing multiple types of breast cancer cells.
In a series of recent third-party independent studies performed at BIOENSIS laboratories, the company said, the preparations demonstrated direct killing of HER2+ breast cancer cells, ER+/PR+ breast cancer cells, and triple-negative breast cancer cells by direct cytotoxicity.
This suggests that AION F7 and AION F8 may be effective in treating each of those cancer types, including the notoriously difficult to treat triple-negative breast cancer, it added.
READ: Aion Therapeutic files new patent applications for using medicinal mushrooms to treat breast and other cancers
In separate independent studies at the same labs, the Aion mushroom preparations also demonstrated enhanced cell killing of HER2+ breast cancer cells via stimulation of the immune system, the company said.
The preparations showed similar effectiveness as trastuzumab, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved monoclonal antibody treatment for HER2+ breast cancer sold under the brand name Herceptin. Herceptin is the leading breast cancer drug with annual global sales of around $7 billion, the company noted.
Additionally, combining Aion preparations with trastuzumab delivered a greater than 60% increase in the killing of HER2+ breast cancer cells compared to trastuzumab alone. Other FDA approved biosimilar trastuzumab products include Trazimera (Pfizer), Kanjinti (Amgen), Ontruzant (Merck), Herzuma (Teva) and Ogivri (Mylan).
"The extremely exciting results obtained from these independent 3D cell culture studies suggests that when appropriate Aion Mushroom Preparations are used together, they may offer a dual approach to the killing of HER2+ breast cancer cells through two separate and distinct pathways (direct cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity),” Aion chief science officer Herbert Fritsche said in a statement.
“The significant improvement in cancer cell cytotoxicity that was observed when the preparations were combined with trastuzumab warrants immediate further investigation in breast cancer patients," he added.
Going forward, the next step is to initiate clinical trials of the mushroom preparations with and without Herceptin and other trastuzumab biosimilar in HER2+ breast cancer patients as well as by itself in ER+/PR+ breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer patients, the company said.
"Each year more than 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed globally, making it the most common cancer among women, and more than 500,000 women will die of the disease," Aion CEO Graham Simmonds said. "We are excited that these Aion Mushroom Preparations that have shown very encouraging initial test results will be developed to be transformative in how women are treated globally."
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