Biodexa Secures Rights to Commercialize eRapa for Rare Cancer, Additional Indications
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BDRX) has entered an agreement with Emtora Biosciences (Rapamycin Holdings Inc.) for the rights to eRapa under an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture, commercialize and advance eRapa. eRapa is an oral tablet formulation of rapamycin, which is approved in the US for organ rejection in renal transplantation as Rapamune®(Pfizer). The company’s share price rose 80.56% in intraday trading on Friday following the news.
Commenting on the agreement, Stephen Stamp, CEO and CFO of Biodexa said, “Acquiring a Phase 3 ready asset, particularly one supported by $17 million of non-dilutive grant funding, significantly advances Biodexa’s oncology pipeline and adds numerous valuation catalysts for our stakeholders. We are delighted to be working with the Emtora team which has excelled in bringing eRapa close to the end of Phase 2 in non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer and to the beginning of a Phase 3 trial in FAP, a devastating disease for which there is currently no approved pharmacological agent for altering its progression. Left untreated, it almost always leads to incredibly invasive surgery and a major deterioration in the quality of life.”
eRapa was invented at the University of Texas in San Antonio, and funded in part by grants from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. It is currently being evaluated in two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials.
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 programmes include tolimidone, under development as a novel agent for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and MTX110, which is being studied in aggressive rare/orphan brain cancer indications, and
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 tumour, 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.