June 10, 2024
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC
(“Biodexa” or the “Company”)
Twelve month Phase 2 Clinical Trial Results of eRapa™ in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) to be Presented at Prestigious Biennial InSIGHT 2024 Meeting in Barcelona
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC, (Nasdaq: BDRX), an acquisition-focused clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of innovative products for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs, announces that 12 month data of a Phase 2 clinical trial of eRapa in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (“FAP”) are to be presented at the prestigious biennial InSIGHT 2024 meeting in Barcelona, Spain on June 22, 2024. Carol Burke, MD, the Principal Investigator, will present the six and 12 month data (NCT04230499) in an oral presentation at the meeting. Dr Burke presented the six-month data at the Digestive Disease Weekly meeting in Washington D.C. on May 21, 2024.
eRapa in FAP
FAP is characterized as a proliferation of polyps in the GI tract, usually occurring in mid-teens. There is no approved therapeutic option for treating FAP patients, for whom active surveillance and surgical resection of the colon and/or rectum remain the standard of care. If untreated, FAP typically leads to cancer of the colon and/or rectum. There is a significant hereditary component to FAP with a reported incidence of one in 5,000 to 10,000 in the US2 and one in 11,300 to 37,600 in Europe3. eRapa has received Orphan Designation in the US with plans to seek such designation in Europe. Importantly, mTOR has been shown to be over-expressed in FAP polyps – thereby underscoring the rationale for using a potent and safe mTOR inhibitor like eRapa to treat FAP.
Results of the Phase 2 study at six months
In the duodenum, 14/18 (78%) patients were non-progressors with 11/18 (61%) of these patients with PR. In the colorectum, 25/29 (86%) patients were non progressors including all with an intact colon; of these 15/29 (67%) patients demonstrated PR including 4 with an intact colon. Only two drug-related Grade 3 Serious Adverse Events occurred during the trial (with no Grade 4 or 5 reported), and 97% of patients remained on treatment at six months. In summary, eRapa appeared safe and well-tolerated with a significant 24% reduction in the total polyp burden at six months compared with baseline (p=0.04) and an overall 83% non-progression rate.
About eRapa
eRapa is a proprietary oral tablet formulation of rapamycin, also known as sirolimus. Rapamycin is an mTOR (mammalian Target Of Rapamycin) inhibitor. mTOR has been shown to have a significant role in the signalling pathway that regulates cellular metabolism, growth and proliferation and is activated during tumorgenesis1. Rapamycin is approved in the US for organ rejection in renal transplantation as Rapamune®(Pfizer). Through the use of nanotechnology and pH sensitive polymers, eRapa is designed to address the poor bioavailability, variable pharmacokinetics and toxicity generally associated with the currently available forms of rapamycin. eRapa is protected by a number of issued patents which extend through 2035, with other pending applications potentially providing further protection beyond 2035.
1. Tian et al., mTOR Signaling in Cancer and mTOR Inhibitors in Solid Tumor Targeting Therapy, Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb; 20(3): 755
2. www.rarediseases.org
3. www.orpha.net
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About Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC (listed on NASDAQ: BDRX) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of innovative products for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs. The Company’s lead development programs include eRapa, under development for Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and Non Muscle Invasive Blader Cancer: tolimidone, under development as a for the treatment of type 1 diabetes; and MTX110, which is being studied in aggressive rare/orphan brain cancer indications.
eRapa is a proprietary oral tablet formulation of rapamycin, also known as sirolimus. Rapamycin is an mTOR (mammalian Target Of Rapamycin) inhibitor. mTOR has been shown to have a significant role in the signalling pathway that regulates cellular metabolism, growth and proliferation and is activated during tumorgenesis.
Tolimidone is an orally delivered, potent and selective inhibitor of Lyn kinase. Lyn is a member of the Src family of protein tyrosine kinases, which is mainly expressed in hematopoietic cells, in neural tissues, liver, and adipose tissue. Tolimidone demonstrates glycemic control via insulin sensitization in animal models of diabetes and has the potential to become a first in class blood glucose modulating agent.
MTX110 is a solubilised formulation of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, panobinostat. This proprietary formulation enables delivery of the product via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) at chemotherapeutic doses directly to the site of the tumor, by-passing the blood-brain barrier and potentially avoiding systemic toxicity.
Biodexa is supported by three proprietary drug delivery technologies focused on improving the bio-delivery and bio-distribution of medicines. Biodexa’s headquarters and R&D facility is in Cardiff, UK. For more information visit www.biodexapharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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Reference should be made to those documents that Biodexa shall file from time to time or announcements that may be made by Biodexa in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any projections or forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or concerning Biodexa are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Except as may be required under relevant laws in the United States, Biodexa does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or events otherwise arising.
