Patrys Ltd (ASX:PAB) has fielded new pre-clinical data for its lead asset, PAT-DX1, which strongly back the drug’s continued development to improve patient outcomes in high-grade glioma (HGG), a fast growing and clinically challenging form of brain cancer.
The study was conducted in the laboratory of Professor Terrence Johns of the Telethon Kids Cancer Centre and showed that combining a therapeutic dose of standard radiation therapy (red bar) with a 25 milligram-per-kilogram dose of PAT-DX1 (blue bar) increased median survival by 12 days compared to radiation treatment alone.
Additionally, even at a lower dose than previously used, PAT-DX1 showed significant activity as a single agent, confirming previous studies in a range of brain cancer models.
Universally lethal in children
HGG is the most common and deadly type of brain cancer, affecting both adults and children. Adult patients have a five-year survival rate of 10% with standard therapy, which includes surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy.
In children HGG is a rapid and universally lethal disease. The ‘high-grade’ in HGG refers to the fact that the tumours are fast-growing and spread quickly through brain tissue making them very difficult to treat.
“It is exciting for us to see the effects of combining of PAT-DX1 with standard of care radiation therapy in HGG, one of the hardest to treat forms of cancer, and particularly exciting that two of the 10 animals treated were long term survivors," Professor Johns said.
"These impressive results offer the potential for future clinical strategies that allow the reduction of radiation dose and its associated side effects, particularly in children.
"We are excited to be working with Patrys as we work to optimise strategies for combining standard of care with PAT-DX1 therapies.”
Professor Johns leads one of Australia’s leading brain cancer laboratories, and he has a strong track record in translational research with extensive national and international networks. He is co-director of the Australian Brain Cancer Research Alliance (ABCARA), an Australia-wide consortium of researchers and clinicians dedicated to ensuring that promising therapeutics discoveries are translated into the clinic for the treatment of patients with brain cancer.
Headed for the clinic
Patrys CEO and managing director Dr James Campbell said: “This is a very exciting result, showing a robust benefit from combining PAT-DX1 with standard of care radiation therapy in high grade glioma, one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers.
“This, and additional studies funded under the auspices of Cure Brain Foundations’ Clinical Accelerator program, of which our collaborator Professor Johns was the inaugural recipient, will guide us towards optimised therapeutic regimes and timing schedules as we progress PAT-DX1 into the clinic.
“Having successfully completed our engineering run for PAT-DX1 recently we are well positioned to advance towards the clinic, and excited by the potential of this novel and exciting agent.”