Evgen Pharma PLC Charity-funded Study of SFX-01 in TNBC (7315K)
11 July 2017 - 9:30PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMEVG
RNS Number : 7315K
Evgen Pharma PLC
11 July 2017
For immediate release 11 July 2017
Evgen Pharma plc
("Evgen Pharma" or "the Company")
Charity-funded Study of SFX-01 in Triple Negative Breast
Cancer
Evgen Pharma (AIM: EVG), a clinical stage drug development
company focused on the treatment of cancer and neurological
conditions, announces that the Company's lead product, SFX-01, will
be tested against triple negative breast cancer ("TNBC") in new
preclinical research at the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, UK.
This initiative is to be funded by a charitable donation from the
Shine Bright Foundation, a UK charity focused on TNBC, to the
University of Manchester, which is Evgen Pharma's long-standing
research collaborator.
The new preclinical programme will investigate the effect of
SFX-01, the Company's stable sulforaphane-based pharmaceutical
development product, with and without chemotherapy, on
patient-derived triple negative tumours in animal models.
This programme is in response to recently published* independent
research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States.
The US research group has demonstrated that sulforaphane enhances
the effectiveness of chemotherapy in TNBC. They conclude that their
results "suggest that the treatment of TNBCs with cytotoxic
chemotherapy would be greatly benefited by the addition of
sulforaphane to prevent expansion of and eliminate breast cancer
stem cells".
This US research provides a positive read-across for Evgen
Pharma whose current Phase IIa study in advanced breast cancer is
testing the hypothesis that SFX-01, by targeting breast cancer stem
cells, may reduce resistance to hormone therapy.
Dr Stephen Franklin, CEO of Evgen Pharma, commented: "In our
ongoing Phase IIa study, we are focusing on the more prevalent
hormone-sensitive (ER+) breast cancer patient group. Our
hypothesis, supported by a significant proportion of the research
community, is that cancer stem cells drive the eventual resistance
to hormone therapy in ER+ patients. Targeting these cells may
therefore extend the period of time for which hormone therapy is
effective or even reverse resistance. The same principle can be
applied to resistance to chemotherapy and this is the effect that
the University of Michigan researchers are observing. This is an
exciting development for Evgen Pharma, suggesting that SFX-01 could
have wider utility in oncology where resistance to mainstay
therapies is a perennial issue."
Enquiries:
Evgen Pharma plc c/o +44 (0) 20 7466
Dr Stephen Franklin, CEO 5000
Richard Moulson, CFO
www.evgen.com
Buchanan
Mark Court, Sophie Cowles, Stephanie +44 (0) 20 7466
Watson 5000
Northland Capital Partners Limited
Matthew Johnson, Gerry Beaney,
Margarita Mitropoulou (Corporate
Finance)
John Howes, Rob Rees (Corporate +44 (0) 20 3861
Broking) 6625
Notes for editors:
* Sulforaphane enhances the anticancer activity of taxanes
against triple negative breast cancer by killing cancer stem cells.
Burnett et al 2017, Cancer Lett. 394:52-64.
Abstract: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) typically
exhibits rapid progression, high mortality and faster relapse rates
relative to other breast cancer subtypes. In this report we examine
the combination of taxanes (paclitaxel or docetaxel) with a breast
cancer stem cell (CSC)-targeting agent sulforaphane for use against
TNBC. We demonstrate that paclitaxel or docetaxel treatment induces
IL-6 secretion and results in expansion of CSCs in TNBC cell lines.
Conversely, sulforaphane is capable of preferentially eliminating
CSCs, by inhibiting NF-<KAPPA>B p65 subunit translocation,
downregulating p52 and consequent downstream transcriptional
activity. Sulforaphane also reverses taxane-induced aldehyde
dehydrogenase-positive (ALDH+) cell enrichment, and dramatically
reduces the size and number of primary and secondary mammospheres
formed. In vivo in an advanced treatment orthotopic mouse xenograft
model together with extreme limiting dilution analysis (ELDA), the
combination of docetaxel and sulforaphane exhibits a greater
reduction in primary tumor volume and significantly reduces
secondary tumor formation relative to either treatment alone. These
results suggest that treatment of TNBCs with cytotoxic chemotherapy
would be greatly benefited by the addition of sulforaphane to
prevent expansion of and eliminate breast CSCs.
About Shine Bright Foundation
The Shine Bright Foundation is a Cheshire-based charity
dedicated to "leading the fight against triple negative breast
cancer". It was established to raise funds for research, raise
awareness of TNBC and fund local treatments. Further information
can be found at: www.shine-bright-foundation.org.uk/
About Evgen Pharma plc
Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company whose
lead programmes are in breast cancer and subarachnoid haemorrhage,
a type of stroke. It is also carrying out preclinical work in
multiple sclerosis and has a clinical interest in prostate cancer.
The Company's core technology is Sulforadex(R), a method for
synthesising and stabilising the naturally occurring compound
sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane.
The lead product, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic
sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin.
Evgen Pharma commenced operations in January 2008 and has its
headquarters at The Colony, Wilmslow, Cheshire, and its registered
office is at the Liverpool Science Park, Liverpool. It joined the
AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2015 and trades
under the ticker symbol EVG.
For further information, please visit: www.evgen.com
For commissioned research on the Company, please visit:
http://evgen.com/investors/analyst-coverage/
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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