Evgen Pharma PLC (AIM:EVG, FRA:8EV) said the recent publication in a scientific journal of in vitro data shows the effectiveness of the company’s lead asset in glioblastoma cells and 3D spheroids.
Data on the effect of the company’s potential anticancer drug, SFX-01, on proliferation of human glioblastoma cell lines from several patients in New Zealand, was published in the pre-print journal BioRxIV by Dr Euphemia Leung and Prof Bruce Baguley of the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
3D spheroids are aggregations of tumour cells that more closely reflect the structure of tumours in patients.
“In these in vitro experiments, SFX-01 demonstrated inhibition of glioblastoma cell growth, confirming work previously announced by the company in another academic centre,” said Evgen in a statement on Monday.
At the start of September, SFX-01 was granted orphan drug designation in the USA for malignant glioma, which the company noted has afforded the programme additional data protection and other incentives.
Dr Huw Jones, chief executive of Evgen, said: “This careful and well-controlled set of experiments by Dr Leung and Prof Baguley confirm work communicated to us by Dr Festuccia of the University of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy and are now available through the rapid publication BioRxIV. We noted the effects observed by the Auckland group in a previous communication and the data are now available for inspection via the journal.
“They serve to confirm the potential efficacy of SFX-01 in cells that are arguably more disease relevant than those more commonly used.”