26 May 2015 07:01
26 May 2015
AIM: REDX
REDX PHARMA PLC
("Redx" or "the Company" or "the Group")
Announces
Second drug development candidate
Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitor
for treatment of leukaemia and other blood cancers
and
autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
Redx, the drug discovery and development company, is pleased to announce that its oncology subsidiary has identified a drug development candidate for a potential new treatment for blood cancers and autoimmune diseases by inhibiting Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase ("BTK"), the enzyme that plays a key role in the development of these illnesses. Blood cancers include leukaemia such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Sjögren's syndrome. The candidate is the Company's second to be advanced from its innovative development pipeline.
The newly identified novel small molecule inhibitor combines best-in-class potency with distinct selectivity profiles targeted at oncology and autoimmune diseases. This inhibitor blocks BTK, an essential element of the B-cell receptor signalling pathway. It is expected to be able to be taken orally as a once daily dose and to act without the negative side-effects that other current BTK inhibitors exhibit.
Redx currently has 13 proprietary drug programs in its pipeline, with five having achieved pre-clinical proof of concept, demonstrating superior performance to competitor drugs. These programs have relevance for respective therapies to treat MRSA, bone tumours, skin, brain, blood, breast, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers. Redx's first drug development candidate is a smoothened inhibitor which has potential to treat basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, through topical application.
Dr Neil Murray, Redx Pharma CEO, said:
"We're delighted to be announcing the second drug candidate to make it through our development pipeline, particularly one which has the potential to play a role in tackling some challenging blood cancers like leukaemia and diseases of the autoimmune system including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
"This drug candidate has the potential to demonstrate efficacy without the highly unpleasant side effects that many existing treatments display.
"We have a number of other promising candidates in the pipeline and we're looking forward to seeing these progress into development in the near future."
For further information, please contact:
Redx Pharma Plc | T: 0151 706 4747 | |
Neil Murray, Chief Executive Company website: redxpharma.com | ||
Shore Capital (Nomad and Broker) | T: 020 7408 4090 | |
Bidhi Bhoma / Patrick Castle / Edward Mansfield | ||
KTZ Communications | T: 020 3178 6378 | |
Katie Tzouliadis |
About Redx Pharma Plc
Redx is focused on the development of proprietary, small molecule therapeutics to address areas of high, unmet medical need, principally in cancer, infection and immunology. By improving the characteristics of existing drug classes to create highly differentiated, novel, best-in-class drugs, Redx has already established a portfolio of 13 proprietary, (patent-protected) drug programs. Five programs have now achieved pre-clinical proof of concept, with relevance for respective therapies to treat MRSA, bone tumours, skin, brain, blood, breast, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers.