With promising data starting to flow from clinical trials, more and more medical researchers are tuning in to the Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) story.
The drug development Company has a diverse pipeline backed by solid science with drugs engineered by their world renowned drug development team.
Lead drug candidate PXS-5505 is designed to treat myelofibrosis, a rare bone cancer through the inhibition of the LOX enzyme. The drug is in phase 1c/2 trials at the moment and has shown promising results, piquing the interest of key opinion leaders worldwide who see opportunity beyond the drug’s intended purpose.
Joining the likes of Professor Fiona Wood, The Charlie Teo Foundation and Professor Carol Pollock is the University of Rochester.
A study led by Dr. Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York has been investigating the use of PXS-5505 in preclinical models of liver cancer, with the group releasing results earlier this week.
For the first time, PXS-5505 has been demonstrated to have an effect on cancers other than myelofibrosis. This is significant as it opens up potential new addressable markets for Pharmaxis.
Presented at a top scientific conference in Miami, the data showed that LOX enzymes were elevated in liver tumour tissue specimens collected from patients over a ten year period and high enzyme levels within the tumour correlated to a poor prognosis. PXS-5505 is designed to inhibit the LOX enzyme and was found to delay tumour growth and increase survival in preclinical models.
The research group proposed that PXS-5505 in combination with standard chemotherapy drugs represents an innovative therapeutic strategy for sufferers of liver cancer.
The chemotherapy market is valued at USD $50 billion. As the mainstay of cancer treatment researchers agree that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon however, lower chemo load treatments are increasingly preferable due to decreased adverse side effects for patients. Combining PXS-5505 as an adjunct to standard chemotherapy could revolutionise the way we treat liver cancer.
With almost $20 million of cash in the back, trials for Pharmaxis’ drugs are fully funded. A unique drug company, Pharmaxis has already developed cystic fibrosis drug Bronchitol to commercialisation. The fully approved drug is cash flow positive and whilst CEO, Gary Phillips admits that the Bronchitol business isn’t a “company changer”, it’s still an excellent representation of what Pharmaxis can do.
Pharmaxis CEO Gary Phillips recently sat down with Alan Kohler of The Eureka Report to discuss the Company and their clinical pipeline in detail.