9 Dec 2020 07:00
9 December 2020
Midatech Pharma PLC
("Midatech" or the "Company")
UK Parliament Debate Highlights the Need for New DIPG Treatments
Midatech Pharma PLC (AIM: MTPH.L; Nasdaq: MTP), an R&D biotechnology company focused on improving the biodelivery and biodistribution of medicines, is pleased to note that its research effort to find novel treatments for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma ("DIPG") was recognised during a debate at Westminster Hall in the UK Parliament on 7 December 2020.
The debate was in response to an e-petition by a member of the public. Fifteen members of parliament (MPs) recounted heart-breaking cases of children in their constituencies who had also succumbed to DIPG and the devastating impact this diagnosis and terminal prognosis had on their families. Other common themes were the lack of progress at finding new treatments over the past 50 years and a need to target government funding to incentivise and intensify the research effort.
Derek Thomas MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Brain Cancer, highlighted Midatech as a UK company working in DIPG, it's clinical trials in San Francisco and New York and the recent announcement of encouraging Phase I trial results of its direct-to-tumour drug, MTX110. Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care recognised that "research must continue and intensify" and that "we never want to see parents go through this pain".
The full Hansard record of the debate can be found at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-12-07/debates/5A3AD7FE-2CEB-4B07-896B-FA5D292A07E9/ChildhoodCancersResearch
Commenting, Steve Damment, EVP R&D of Midatech, said: "DIPG is devastating for children and their families. The results from our recently reported Phase I study in DIPG patients were encouraging and we are planning our next step to move the programme forward. It is gratifying to have our efforts recognised at government level."
About DIPG
DIPG is a primary brain tumour arising in the pons (middle) of the brain stem, is diffusely infiltrating and cannot be surgically removed. Occurring mostly in children, the median survival rate in a cohort of 316 cases was 10.0 months and OS12 was 35% (Jansen et al, 2015. Neuro-Oncology 17(1):160-166). Although radiotherapy prolongs survival, the majority of patients die within one year following diagnosis. Systemic chemotherapy is ineffective, often due to an inability of agents to cross the blood-brain barrier. Approximately 1,000 (data on file) individuals are diagnosed with DIPG worldwide each year.
About MTX110
MTX110 is a water-soluble form of panobinostat free base, achieved through complexation with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD), that enables convection-enhanced delivery (CED) at potentially chemotherapeutic doses directly to the site of the tumour. Panobinostat is a hydroxamic acid and acts as a non-selective histone deacetylase inhibitor (pan-HDAC inhibitor). The currently available oral formulation of panobinostat lactate (Farydak®) is not suitable for treatment of brain cancers owing to poor blood-brain barrier penetration and inadequate brain drug concentrations. Based on favourable translational science data, MTX110 is being evaluated clinically as a treatment for DIPG (NCT03566199, NCT04264143) and recurrent medulloblastoma (NCT04315064), and preclinically for treatment of glioblastoma (SNO 2020 Abstract TMOD-27). MTX110 is delivered directly into and around the patient's tumour via a catheter system (e.g. CED or fourth ventricle infusions) to bypass the blood-brain barrier. This technique exposes the tumour to very high drug concentrations while simultaneously minimising systemic drug levels and the potential for toxicity and other side effects. Panobinostat has demonstrated high potency against DIPG tumour cells in in vitro and in vivo models, and in a key study it was the most promising of 83 anticancer agents tested in 14 patient-derived DIPG cell lines (Grasso et al, 2015. Nature Medicine 21(6), 555-559).
For more information, please contact:
Midatech Pharma PLC |
Stephen Stamp, CEO, CFO Steve Damment, EVP R&D |
Tel: +44 (0)29 20480 180 |
www.midatechpharma.com |
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) |
Freddy Crossley, Emma Earl (Corporate Finance) |
Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking) |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 2500 |
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited (Joint Broker) |
Andrew Thacker (Corporate Broking) Tel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050 |
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and UK Investor Relations) |
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3934 6630 |
Email: midatech@investor-focus.co.uk |
Edison Group (US Investor Relations) Megan Paul Tel: +1 (646) 653 7034 Email: mpaul@edisongroup.com |
About Midatech Pharma PLC Midatech Pharma PLC (dual listed on LSE AIM: MTPH; and NASDAQ: MTP) is a drug delivery technology company focused on improving the bio-delivery and bio-distribution of medicines. The Company combines approved and development medications with its proprietary and innovative drug delivery technologies to provide compelling products that have the potential to powerfully impact the lives of patients.
The Company has developed three in-house technology platforms, each with its own unique mechanism to improve delivery of medications to sites of disease. All of the Company's technologies have successfully entered human use in the clinic, providing important validation of the potential for each platform:
· Q-Sphera™ platform: a disruptive micro-technology used for sustained release to prolong and control the release of therapeutics over an extended period of time (from weeks to months). · MidaSolve™ platform: an innovative nanotechnology used to dissolve insoluble drugs so that they can be administered in liquid form directly and locally into tumours. · MidaCore™ platform: a leading-edge nanotechnology used for targeting medications to sites of disease.
The platform nature of the technologies offers the potential to develop multiple drug assets rather than being reliant on a limited number of programmes. Midatech's technologies are supported by 36 patent families including 120 granted patents and an additional 70 patent applications. Midatech's headquarters and R&D facility is in Cardiff, UK. For more information please visit www.midatechpharma.com |
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