Evgen Pharma PLC (AIM:EVG) hailed the publication of peer-reviewed data which highlights the potential of its lead asset, SFX-01, in treating glioblastoma, an aggressive and often fatal form of brain tumour.
The major takeaway from the article in the academic journal 'Pharmaceuticals' was the statistically significant survival rate seen in animal models where the sulforaphane-based Evgen treatment was used.
The research, which was carried out by Dr Claudio Festuccia and colleagues at the universities of Aquila, Rome and Rieti, Italy, also confirmed the anti-tumour activity of SFX-01 in lab testing.
Chief executive, Dr Huw Jones, welcomed the update, which he said supported the company’s decision to focus on glioblastoma as one of its core programmes.
“Our design work on a phase II study in glioblastoma patients is well advanced and we are discussing the design with a number of prominent UK and European clinical centres,” he added.
“In due course, we hope to contribute a new treatment option for patients with this devastating disease."
Glioblastoma multiforme is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the spinal cord as well as the brain. Treatments are rarely curative and are designed to slow disease progression. As such only 5% of patients survive beyond five years, and 25% beyond a year.
US regulators have granted SFX-01 orphan drug designation to treat people with malignant glioma. This affords the formulation additional data protection and can sometimes result in a shorter timeline to market.
SFX-01 is derived from sulforaphane, a compound from nature that Evgen has converted into a fully synthetic, patented drug.
In Sulforadex, the company’s core technology, Evgen has found a method for synthesising and stabilising the naturally occurring compound to a pharmaceutical standard.