Patrys publishes upbeat pre-clinical data in the fight against brain cancer

Therapeutic antibody developer Patrys (ASX: PAB) has published additional pre‐clinical data for its drug candidate PATDX1, a humanized version of the 3E10 anti‐DNA antibody that aims to reduce cancerous brain tumours (glioblastomas).

According to Patrys, research conducted by Dr James Hansen and Dr Jiangbing Zhou of Yale University have shown that “PAT‐DX1 administered by tail vein injection crossed the blood-brain barrier to significantly reduce tumour size in an orthotopic animal model of glioblastoma using human tumour explants.”

Patrys also adds that after evaluating multiple brain sections, researchers showed that glioblastoma tumours in mice treated with PAT‐DX1 were more than 40% smaller than the comparable tumours in control mice.

Upon announcing its better than expected pre-clinical data this morning, Patry’s shares rose 37% in early trade on the ASX.

“We are delighted with this significant discovery,” said Dr James Campbell, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Patrys. “The blood-brain barrier is one of the major limitations in the development of neuro‐therapeutics, and the observation that PAT‐DX1 can cross the barrier and reduce glioblastoma tumour size is very positive. With our collaborators at Yale, we are currently undertaking a parallel study to evaluate the comparative survival of mice with glioblastoma that have been treated with PAT‐DX1 versus untreated mice, and will report on this in the coming month.”

Patry’s drug candidate is intended to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier in order to be effective. The blood-brain barrier is a protective layer of endothelial cells that only allows certain molecules to

transit from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain. To date, very few proteins or antibodies have been shown to transit across the barrier from the blood to the brain, with Patrys’ PAT-DX1 aiming to prove this ability in human trials.

In a range of pre‐clinical cancer models, PAT‐DX1 has shown significant ability to kill cancer cells in cell models, human tumour explants and xenograft models. PAT‐DX1 has also been shown to work synergistically with the approved PARP inhibitor, olaparib.

Patrys believes that PAT‐DX1 may have application across a wide range of malignancies such as gliomas, melanomas, prostate, breast, pancreatic and ovarian cancers.

If successful, Patrys will market PAT-DX1 as a means of treating cancerous tumours more effectively compared to existing treatments.

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive, highly malignant form of brain cancer characterised by very fast cellular reproduction – and constituting approximately 15% of all primary brain cancers.

According to scientific research, glioblastomas highlight an acute market opportunity given the median survival period of 18 months, depending on disease severity.