Destiny Pharma
plc
("Destiny Pharma" or "the
Company")
Efficacy of XF-70 Demonstrated: A
Potential New Agent for the Treatment of Fungal Skin
Infections
Brighton, United
Kingdom - 18 June 2024 - Destiny Pharma (AIM: DEST), a clinical stage biotechnology
company focused on the development and
commercialisation of novel medicines to prevent and cure life
threatening infections, today announced new data on one of its XF
Drug Platform compounds, XF-70, which has demonstrated potency in
an in vivo model of
ringworm, a common fungal skin infection, which affects up to one
in four people worldwide.
Ringworm is caused by a class of fungi called
dermatophytes and are the causative agents of topical fungal
infections. XF-70 is a member of a novel class of antimicrobial
drugs (the XF Drug Platform) that have been shown to have a rapid
bactericidal activity even within biofilms, and is structurally
related to the company's leading drug, XF-73 which is being
developed for the prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal
infections ( a clinical Phase 3 ready asset).
·
When applied to the skin in the ringworm model XF-70
demonstrated a highly significant anti-fungal efficacy, (p =
<0.0001) compared to untreated control.
·
XF-70 recorded an anti-fungal efficacy of 94.9% at the
highest concentration tested.
·
Histopathological examination demonstrated fungi in the skin
sections obtained from untreated skin, but not in skin sections
obtained from any of the XF-70 treatment groups.
This data has been accepted as a presentation
at the forthcoming Irish Fungal Society meeting at Queen's
University Belfast 19-20 June 2024.
As reported by Future Market Insights in
January 2023 "The
global ringworm treatment market is expected to reach US$ 8.38
Billion in 2023 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.2% from
2023 to 2033. The high prevalence of skin diseases and the high
incidence of ringworm are the major factors driving the global
market for ringworm treatments". [1]
Destiny Pharma plans to extend its research
into anti-fungal medicine development to identify additional market
opportunities where there is significant unmet clinical need and
resistance to existing drug products.
Chris Tovey,
Chief Executive Officer of Destiny Pharma, said:
"This XF-70 data presents
an exciting opportunity for Destiny Pharma to address a growing
patient need, while demonstrating the expanded utility of the XF
Drug Platform to deliver novel antimicrobial drugs which can be
used to treat both bacterial and fungal infections. The positive in
vivo data and its acceptance at the Irish Fungal Society meeting is
further validation of Destiny's XF Drug Platform and its pivotal
role in the battle against antimicrobial
resistance."
Dr Bill Love,
Chief Scientific Officer of Destiny Pharma
added: "We
reported last year significant findings of anti-fungal activity of
drugs from the XF Platform and we are encouraged that XF-70's in
vitro potency has translated into an in vivo fungal
infection.
Fungal resistance to anti-fungal drugs is less well known than
antibiotic resistance, however it is of global concern and the
development of novel anti-fungal drugs is equally important in
addressing the impact of antimicrobial
resistance."
For further
information, please contact:
Destiny Pharma
plc
Chris Tovey, CEO
Shaun Claydon, CFO
+44 (0)1273 704 440
pressoffice@destinypharma.com
FTI
Consulting
Ben Atwell / Simon Conway
+44 (0) 203 727 1000
destinypharma@fticonsulting.com
Shore Capital
(Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Daniel Bush / James Thomas / Lucy
Bowden
+44 (0) 207 408 4090
About Destiny
Pharma
Destiny Pharma is an innovative, clinical-stage
biotechnology company focused on the development and
commercialisation of novel medicines that can prevent
life-threatening infections. The Company's drug development
pipeline includes two late-stage assets XF-73 Nasal gel, a
proprietary drug targeting the prevention of post-surgical
staphylococcal hospital infections including MRSA and NTCD-M3, a
microbiome-based biotherapeutic for the prevention of C. difficile
infection (CDI) recurrence which is the leading cause of hospital
acquired infection in the US.
For further information on the company, please visit
www.destinypharma.com.
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