Faron Pharmaceuticals Share News (FARN)

(Alliance News) - Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Wednesday reported positive data from an ongoing trial on patients receiving a new treatment for a rare blood cancer.

The Finland-based developer of cancer immunotherapies said 20 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood cancer, had showed an 80% objective response rate in the ongoing BEXMAB trial. Objective response rate is the percentage of patients who have a partial or complete response to the treatment.

The patients had all relapsed after previously being treated with hypomethylating agents, a class of drugs typically used to treat the cancer.

The company said the results show "very encouraging efficacy and robust treatment benefit". Similar patient cohorts when treated with existing alternative drugs had reported an ORR between 0% to 20%.

The trial patients have an estimated median overall survival of approximately 13.4 months, compared to the 5 to 6 months expected under historic standards of care.

Chief Executive Officer Juho Jalkanen said: "It is remarkable seeing the ORR continuing to be so strong even as the patient population grows, as it would typically be expected to settle at a lower level. For patients, I believe these results are truly exciting as we take another step closer to providing an additional option for their poorly met treatment needs. With our repeatedly strong data, we are very much looking forward to our continuing discussions with regulatory agencies and partner candidates."

On November 11, Faron said it had filed a patent application around the use of immune system regulator Clever-1 to treat autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders. The company said the next step is to "design the optimal drug composition with the desired characteristics for treating autoimmune diseases".

Shares in Faron Pharmaceuticals were up 6.4% to 170.25 pence in London on Wednesday morning.

By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.