Fourth drug development candidate

RNS Number : 8030H

Redx Pharma plc

03 December 2015

 

3  December 2015

AIM: REDX

REDX PHARMA PLC

("Redx" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Announces fourth drug development candidate

Porcupine inhibitor for treatment of pancreatic, triple negative breast

and head and neck cancers

Redx, the drug discovery and development company, is pleased to announce that it has identified a drug development candidate which has the potential to tackle hard-to-treat cancers including pancreatic, triple negative breast and head and neck cancers. This is the fourth candidate to be advanced from the Company's innovative development pipeline in the last 12 months.  The program has reached development stage in less than two years; as with the other candidates, this is significantly faster than industry averages.

The novel, potent small molecule Porcupine inhibitor targets the Wnt pathway, an embryonic signalling pathway that is implicated in the maintenance of cancer stem cells in multiple cancer types. These cancer stem cells are associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, recurrence and resistance in cancer. Of particular significance is the fact that the target also has an emerging role in the field of immuno-oncology with the potential to be combined with checkpoint inhibitors.

The Company will now progress studies to prepare the program for first-in-man clinical trials.  Redx believes the superior characteristics of the Company's compound could result in a best-in-class drug, making the commercial potential for this new development candidate particularly attractive.

Dr Neil Murray, CEO of Redx, said:

"We're delighted to be announcing the fourth drug candidate to make it through our development pipeline. Our novel Porcupine inhibitor has the potential to tackle some of the most hard-to-treat cancers and we are particularly excited by the prospects for this target in immuno-oncology.

"We believe this compound has the potential to be a best-in-class therapy that can treat areas of high unmet need. Patients with difficult to treat cancers such as pancreatic, triple negative breast cancer and head and neck cancers could potentially achieve dramatically improved outcomes.

"This program has once again demonstrated Redx's capability to accelerate timelines by taking a candidate to development in less than two years and reflects Redx's commercially disciplined approach to drug discovery and the quality of its scientific team. We look forward to seeing the program progress over the next 12 months towards first-in-man clinical studies.  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 discovery and development of proprietary, small molecule therapeutics to address areas of high, unmet medical need, principally in cancer, infection and immunology, providing a pipeline of assets to larger and emerging companies. 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, breast, pancreatic and blood cancers.

About triple negative breast, pancreatic, and head and neck cancers

Triple negative breast cancer refers to a variation of breast cancer that doesn't have any oestrogen, progesterone or HER2 receptors. It is one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, and this type of cancer is most likely to metastasise and recur. Around 15% of breast cancer diagnoses are triple negative, and it is most prevalent in women who develop breast cancer under the age of 40. Approximately 7,500 new cases are diagnosed every year in the UK. Triple negative breast cancer cannot be treated with hormonal therapy or Herceptin; treatment to date is usually a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most prevalent cancer in the UK, and the number of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK has been steadily rising: In 2012, 8,888 people were newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK, an increase of 1.3% on 2011. In 2012, the number of deaths due to pancreatic cancer in the UK rose to 8,662, an increase of 4% on 2011. Nearly 24 people a day and nearly one person an hour will die from pancreatic cancer in the UK. To date, treatment for pancreatic cancer is usually a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

There are around 13,000 new cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed in the UK every year. These can be difficult to treat because head and neck cancer affects areas in and around the mouth, thyroid gland, voicebox (larynx), salivary glands, noses and sinuses and throat (pharynx). Head and neck cancer is often treated by a surgical procedure to remove the cancer completely. However, the removal of tissue and bones can result in physical changes that require reconstructive surgery. The surgery is often combined with radiation and/or chemotherapy.

 

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