4D pharma PLC (AIM:DDDD, NASDAQ:LBPS) jumped 27% in London trading after the company hit its primary efficacy target in a phase I/II trail of one of its lead assets in kidney cancer.
Chief Executive Officer Duncan Peyton described the progress as potentially “really meaningful” for patients and their families, in a conference call on Wednesday.
MRx0518 was used in a combination with KEYTRUDA, the Merck blockbuster, which is part of a class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors. The Leeds, England-based company is a pioneer in microbiome-focused drugs that use good human bacteria to treat illness.
The ongoing study is being conducted in heavily pre-treated metastatic patients with solid tumours who have previously experience clinical benefit on prior ICI therapy and subsequently developed progressive disease.
The “holy grail” is to find out which patients respond the best, said Alex Stevenson, chief scientific officer at 4D Pharma.
The study is being conducted with U.S. pharma giant Merck & Co. 4D will discuss the next step with its partners and its Genitourinary Cancers Advisory Board regarding the development path of MRx0518.
It will also consider how the study could be expanded into primary resistant patients and whether its reach can be increased, it said.
“Meeting the predefined primary efficacy endpoint early in this difficult to treat population, marks another important step forward for MRx0518 and the increasing importance of the microbiome in cancer treatment," the company said.
Today’s advance leaves the shares up 9.6% for the year, giving the company a market value of more than £100m.