15 Jan 2018 07:00
For immediate release | 15 January 2018 |
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Evgen Pharma plc
("Evgen Pharma" or "the Company")
Poster presentation of SFX-01 stem cell data in breast cancer
Evgen Pharma (AIM: EVG), a clinical stage drug development company focused on the treatment of cancer and neurological conditions, is pleased to announce that the results of mechanistic studies into SFX-01, the Company's lead compound, in breast cancer are being presented this afternoon in a poster at the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium 2018, Manchester.
The studies used patient samples and patient-derived tumour models to show that SFX-01 targets cancer stem cells ("CSC") in early and metastatic breast cancers and has the potential to overcome resistance to endocrine treatment in oestrogen-receptor positive ("ER+") breast cancers.
The studies also showed that SFX-01 potently suppressed the elevated levels of phospho-STAT3 ("STAT3") seen after endocrine treatment. Investigations are continuing into the role of STAT3 signalling effectors as part of this mechanism of action.
The poster, entitled SFX-01 targets STAT3 signalling to inhibit stem-like cells in breast cancer patient-derived xenograft tumours, concludes that the study data "demonstrate the potential of SFX-01 for clinically meaningful improvements to endocrine therapy in ER+ breast cancer by reversing CSC-mediated resistance".
The lead authors of the poster are Dr Bruno Simões and Dr Rob Clarke. Dr Clarke, who led the studies, is a Reader in Breast Biology and is the Director of the Manchester Breast Cancer Now Research Unit at the University of Manchester.
A copy of the poster will be made available later today on Evgen Pharma's website, www.evgen.com.
Steve Franklin, CEO of Evgen Pharma, said:
"We are very excited by this data, which provides further evidence that SFX-01's mechanism of action is to target cancer stem cells to reverse the resistance to hormone treatment seen in ER+ breast cancer. I would like to thank Dr Clarke and his team for their on-going work on SFX-01. The team's work highlights the effect of SFX-01 on STAT3, which is well known to play a key role in tumour renewal and metastases.
"This mechanistic work supports our on-going Phase II clinical trial of SFX-01 in metastatic breast cancer patients. We look forward to reporting an interim update from the Phase II trial in the first half of this calendar year followed by the final read-out around the year-end."
Further details of the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium 2018, 15-16 January 2018, are available at this link: http://breastcancerconference.org/
Enquiries:
Evgen Pharma plc Dr Stephen Franklin, CEO Richard Moulson, CFO www.evgen.com | c/o +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
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Buchanan Mark Court, Sophie Wills, Stephanie Watson | +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
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Northland Capital Partners Limited Matthew Johnson, Gerry Beaney (Corporate Finance) John Howes, Rob Rees (Corporate Broking) | +44 (0) 20 3861 6625 | |
Notes for editors:
About Evgen Pharma plc
Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company whose lead programmes are in breast cancer and subarachnoid haemorrhage, a type of stroke. The Company's core technology is Sulforadex®, a method for synthesising and stabilising the naturally occurring compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane. The lead product, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin.
Evgen Pharma commenced operations in January 2008 and has its headquarters at The Colony, Wilmslow, Cheshire, and its registered office is at the Liverpool Science Park, Liverpool. It joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2015 and trades under the ticker symbol EVG.
For further information, please visit: www.evgen.com
For commissioned research on the Company, please visit: http://evgen.com/investors/analyst-coverage/