(Alliance News) - Tiziana Life Sciences PLC on Monday noted a study in which a drug similar to Foralumab was shown to delay the onset of type-1 diabetes.
Shares in the biotechnology company were up 14% at 72.00 pence in morning trade.
The phase two study of Teplizumab, an anti-CD3 antibody similar to Foralumab being developed by Provention Bio, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Type-1 diabetes is caused by the immune system's T cells attacking insulin-producing cells in the body. Anti-CD3 antibodies like Tiziana's Foralumab and Provention Bio's Teplizumab suppress the immune system to prevent this from happening.
Teplizumab is derived from mice and was injected intravenously in patients whose relatives already have type 1 diabetes. Of the 76 patients evaluated, 72% were under 18. The patients were randomised to receive either a 14-day course of Teplizumab or placebo and tested at six-month intervals.
The drug was shown to slow progression, with a median delay of two years in diabetes diagnosis after two years.
At the end of the Teplizumab trial, 57% of participants treated with the drug had not developed diabetes compared to 28% on the placebo.
Kunwar Shailubhai, Chief Executive & Chief Scientific Officer at Tiziana said: "Children and adults at high risk of developing Type 1 diabetes may benefit from safe and effective prophylactic use of anti-CD3 [monoclonal antibodies]. We congratulate Kevan Herold, a member of Tiziana's scientific advisory board, and the research team that conducted the published study. Tiziana's proprietary technology for the oral and nasal delivery of mAb's in general, and Foralumab specifically, have strong potential indications in autoimmune diseases including Type 1 diabetes."
Tiziana maintains its own Foralumab drug has "potential safety and efficacy advantages" versus other anti-CD3 antibodies because it is derived from humans rather than mice and mouse-derived antibodies of this type "have been shown to cause immune reactions in humans". Moreover, Foralumab does not have to be injected be can be taken orally or nasally, which makes patients more likely to comply with treatment.