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RNS Number : 2583R
Destiny Pharma PLC
05 July 2022
Destiny Pharma plc
("Destiny Pharma" or the "Company")
Destiny Pharma announces start of a new XF-73 research
programme
Aim to test XF-73 as a potential preventive medicine for Oral
Mucositis
Oral Mucositis is a common and devastating complication from
chemotherapy and radiotherapy suffered by more than 2m cancer
patients every year
Brighton, United Kingdom - 05 July 2022 - Destiny Pharma plc
(AIM: DEST), a clinical-stage innovative biotechnology company
focused on the development of novel medicines that can prevent
life-threatening infections, today announces that it has started a
new research programme. The research study will be conducted in the
US by Oral Mucositis ("OM") expert Professor Stephen Sonis and will
investigate the potential of XF-73 as a preventive medicine to
alleviate suffering from OM in patients receiving cancer treatment
by testing its efficacy in the gold-standard model of OM.
The potential utility of XF-73 in this indication is due to the
long-recognised association between the development of OM and
changes in the oral microbiome . The unique antimicrobial
properties of XF--73 have already been demonstrated in Phase 2
clinical trials. As well as having fast-acting antimicrobial
activity and a novel mechanism of action, XF-73 has an excellent
safety profile and a lack of systemic exposure which means that it
is ideally suited for development as an innovative oral formulation
to reduce the severity of OM.
Inflammation of the mucosa (mucositis) is considered one of the
most serious non-hematological complications of cancer treatment
and a common dose-limiting complication of high-dose radiotherapy
and chemotherapy in cancer and bone marrow transplant patients of
all ages. Globally, more than two million cancer patients suffer
from this condition each year. The global OM market was estimated
at $2.2b in 2018 1 .
Despite its frequency and devastating impact, there are few
approved preventive or treatment options available to help patients
suffering from OM. Professor Stephen Sonis, DMD, DMSc, is a
Professor of Oral Medicine at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine
and also CSO at Biomodels, LLC. Prof. Sonis is a leading OM expert
and his development of predictive research models has enabled
investigation of the biological basis of cancer regimen-related
epithelial injury in over 100 projects.
Neil Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Destiny Pharma, added:
"Oral Mucositis is a very serious condition affecting millions of
cancer patients across the world and is poorly treated by current
products. A successful preventative product will save healthcare
costs and improve patient care whilst supporting a stronger patient
to complete their full course of treatment and thereby make a
significant contribution to improved clinical outcomes. This new
project utilises the unique profile of our XF platform in a new
cancer related indication and we look forward to testing its
potential in gold-standard OM models."
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Destiny Pharma plc
Neil Clark, CEO
Shaun Claydon, CFO
+44 (0)1273 704 440
pressoffice@destinypharma.com
Optimum Strategic Communications
Mary Clark / Manel Mateus / Eleanor Cooper
+44 (0) 203 922 0891
DestinyPharma@optimumcomms.com
finnCap Ltd (Nominated Advisor and Broker)
Geoff Nash / Kate Bannatyne / George Dollemore, Corporate
Finance
Alice Lane / Nigel Birks / Harriet Ward, ECM
+44 (0) 207 220 0500
MC Services AG
Anne Hennecke / Andreas Burckhardt
+49-211-529252-12
About Destiny Pharma
Destiny Pharma is a clinical stage, innovative biotechnology
company focused on the development of novel medicines that can
prevent life-threatening infections. Its pipeline has novel
microbiome-based biotherapeutics and XF drug clinical assets
including NTCD-M3, a Phase 3 ready treatment for the prevention of
C. difficile infection (CDI) recurrence which is the leading cause
of hospital acquired infection in the US and also XF-73 nasal gel,
which has recently completed a positive Phase 2b clinical trial
targeting the prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal hospital
infections including MRSA. It is also co-developing SPOR-COV(TM) ,
a novel, biotherapeutic product for the prevention of COVID-19 and
other viral respiratory infections and has earlier grant funded XF
drug research projects.
For further information on the company, please visit
www.destinypharma.com
Notes to Editors
About Oral Mucositis
Inflammation of the mucosa (mucositis) is a common dose limiting
complication of high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer
patients of all ages. It can affect the mucosa of the entire
gastrointestinal system from oral cavity to anus. Oral Mucositis
("OM") is common and occurs in 40-70% of patients undergoing high
dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy. OM is responsible for reduction
or cessation of cancer treatment in 35% of patients, impacting the
clinical outcome interventions (Sonis, 2014).
Despite its frequency and impact there are few approved
preventive or treatment options. Existing treatments are
unsatisfactory, consisting of mouthwashes and sprays containing
anaesthetics, steroids, protective hydrogels and/or local pain
management.
The target market for XF-73OM is estimated at over 2m OM
patients/year. The global OM market was estimated at $2.2b in 2018
(OM Market Size, Growth and Trends by Cause - 2020) and is split
across countries broadly in proportion to the incidence of cancer
and chemotherapy treatments.
Smaller, targeted indications include BMT patients where severe
OM is reported in >80% of patients. There are >2,000 BMTs
every year in the UK and an estimated 50,000 BMTs are completed
globally.
OM patients require specialised care such as parenteral
nutrition, fluid replacement and anti-infective treatment. A single
point increase in peak mucositis scores in hematopoietic stem cell
transplant patients is associated with one additional day of fever,
a 2--fold increase in risk of significant infection, 2.7 additional
days of total parenteral nutrition, 2.6 additional days of
injectable narcotic therapy, 2.6 additional days in hospital and a
3.9 fold increase in 100-day mortality risk.
The healthcare cost of OM is substantial. In the US, the
estimated cost of hospitalisation was $3,893/chemotherapy cycle
without OM, $6,277/cycle with OM. In one study of patients
receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, OM was
associated with an increase in costs ranging from $1,700 -
$6,000/patient, depending on the grade of OM. Costs in UK and
elsewhere are similar. OM is a global condition affecting all ages,
races and genders.
1 OM Market Size, Growth and Trends by Cause - 2020
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