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(Alliance News) - Sareum Holdings PLC on Wednesday said a clinical trial for its main therapeutic is continuing as planned, and it hopes to use a new prepayment facility to further enhance development.
The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company, focused on developing kinase inhibitors to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer, said recruitment is "progressing to plan" for the Phase 1a clinical trial of its SDC-1801 drug.
SDC-1801 is a TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor being developed as a potential new therapeutic for a range of autoimmune diseases, with an initial focus on skin condition psoriasis which affects over 60 million adults worldwide.
"Sareum believes that TYK2/JAK1 inhibition offers potential for increased efficacy in psoriasis, compared with existing approved therapies," the company explained.
Sareum said the trial safety committee will shortly decide if the Phase 1a trial can progress to the multiple ascending dose stage, which would subsequently commence in the third quarter.
Full safety data for the trial is expected to become available during the first half of 2024, after which Sareum hopes to start a Phase 1b study with psoriasis patients as soon as possible with a readout before the end of next year.
Sareum also said it continues to work on translational studies to define the optimal cancer application for immunotherapy drug SDC-1802.
Earlier this month, Sareum agreed terms with RiverFort Global Opportunities PCC Ltd on an equity prepayment facility of up to GBP5.0 million; it received a GBP2.0 million initial deposit on August 4.
Sareum intends to use the facility, alongside anticipated tax credits worth around GBP1.6 million, to complete the Phase 1a/b clinical development of SDC-1801.
Sareum had about GBP1.0 million cash at June 30, down from GBP4.3 million at the same time last year.
It said on Wednesday it expects its post-tax loss for the financial year that ended June 30 to be around GBP3.3 million, widened from GBP2.2 million the year before, which it said was in line with market predictions and reflects the higher costs expected from setting up and commencing clinical studies.
Shares in Sareum were down 0.8% at 86.78 pence in London on Wednesday afternoon.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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