LONDON (Alliance News) - Redx Pharma PLC Monday said its scientists have demonstrated that its lead cancer treatment, the Porcupine inhibitor, has a a potential role in cancer immunotherapy.
Redx said the scientists demonstrated the inhibitor could be used to improve the immune system of some cancer patients when used in combination with an existing immunotherapy, anti-programmed cell death-1.
This immunotherapy activates the immune system to recognise and attack tumours, Redx said. It has been testing a combination therapy using this with its Porcupine inhibitor, and data demonstrates that this combination "significantly improves" the ratio of favourable T-cells, which attack tumours, to immunosuppressive T-cells, which allow tumours to grow unrecognised.
First in-human studies of the Porcupine inhibitor are expected to commence early in 2017, and Redx said it is now evaluating opportunities for combination therapies.
"The results so far from our Porcupine inhibitor, RXC004, have been very impressive, with important implications for difficult to treat cancers, such as pancreatic cancer," said Chief Executive Officer Neil Murray in a statement.
"Over the past few years, significant progress has been made in harnessing the ability of the immune system to attack cancer. We are very pleased that our new findings confirm that our lead cancer treatment, the Porcupine inhibitor RXC004, now also has a potentially crucial role in enhancing existing cancer immunotherapy treatments," Murray added.
Shares in Redx were up 8.4% at 35.22 pence Monday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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