(Alliance News) - 4d Pharma PLC shares soared on Wednesday after the company said that its phase I/II study for the combination of MRx0518 and Keytruda for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma showed positive results.
Shares shot up 53% at 68.70 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
The Leeds, England-based pharmaceutical company develops live biotherapeutic products.
MRx0518 is a live biotherapeutic for the treatment of cancer. Keytruda, on the other hand, is an immunotherapy from Merck & Co Inc, also for the treatment of cancer.
4d Pharma said that the study is being conducted in collaboration with its Kenilworth, New Jersey-based peer Merck.
4d Pharma stated that in part B of the signal finding study in patients with solid tumours the renal cell carcinoma group has met its primary efficacy endpoint ahead of enrollment completion. Renal cell carcinoma is a kidney cancer.
The primary efficacy endpoint for part B of the study is that more than three out of 30 patients per tumour group achieve a clinical benefit. This is defined as complete response, partial response, or stable disease for at least six months, 4d Pharma explained.
"Today's results in renal cell carcinoma, 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," Alex Stevenson, chief scientific officer at 4d Pharma commented.
"Meeting the primary efficacy endpoint for this group is crucial for the future development of MRx0518, and these data are highly informative for our strategy going forward as we determine next steps in renal cell carcinoma," he continued.
By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com
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