The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price has pushed higher on Thursday following the release of an update on its DEP irinotecan formulation.
At the time of writing the dendrimer products developer's shares are up 1% to $1.13.
What did Starpharma announce?
This morning Starpharma announced that its patented clinical stage nanoparticle formulation, DEP irinotecan, showed significantly enhanced efficacy benefits over standard irinotecan (Camptosar) and olaparib (Lynparza) alone and in combination, in an irinotecan-refractory HT-29 human colon cancer xenograft model.
The release explains that the combination of DEP irinotecan and Lynparza provided significantly enhanced and synergistic anti-tumour efficacy compared to either drug alone, and compared to the combination of Lynparza with the standard form of irinotecan.
Furthermore, the combination of DEP irinotecan with Lynparza also resulted in significant tumour regression, whereas other groups only exhibited tumour suppression or no effect.
What is DEP irinotecan?
DEP irinotecan is a novel, patented nanoparticle formulation of SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan. The drug is based on the company's proprietary DEP drug delivery technology, which uses highly branched polymers to improve the performance of anti-cancer medicines.
It is one of three DEP products in clinical development by Starpharma and is currently in a phase 1/2 clinical trial at several leading UK hospitals.
The company's CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, was delighted with these results.
She said: "We are delighted with the impressive results seen with DEP irinotecan in combination with Lynparza in this refractory human colon cancer model. DEP irinotecan is currently in clinical development, and has previously demonstrated compelling results in both colon and pancreatic cancer models."
"The synergistic anti-cancer effect seen in this study supports earlier data generated showing significant benefits with Starpharma's patented dendrimer formulations in combination with other marketed anti-cancer drugs. The enhanced effects are thought to be due to the improved pharmacokinetics and increased drug-tissue levels (tissue targeting) achieved with dendrimer delivery," she added.
