The Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) share price has spent today in the red despite the company releasing positive data from anti-infective drug trials against bacterial sinusitis in mice.
It seems shareholders weren't excited by the results, with the Recce share price dropping from its opening price of 98 cents to close at 97 cents.
Recce is a drug discovery and development business that produces synthetic antibiotics to address the global health challenge of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Recce report shows positive sinusitis fight
Recce's data is from a large trial involving a total of 12 groups of 10 mice each. The study was performed to reveal the efficacy of a new anti-infective formulation, called RECCE 111 (R111), against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial sinusitis.
Streptococcus pneumoniae, a gram-positive bacterium (a type of bacterium cell wall), is a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis in the United States and a common cause of bloodstream infections, also known as sepsis, ear and sinus infections.
Recce 111 is the title for a wholly-owned experimental compound produced by Recce Pharmaceuticals in-house. The testing showed significant antibacterial capability with no abnormalities detected in any of the 12 groups of mice, with most of the groups administered the drug twice daily.
This news on its own wasn't enough to send the Recce share price flying today.
Three groups were treated with varying intranasal doses twice daily. These groups showed a significant dose-dependent antibacterial effect when compared to early infection. However, the average efficacy of these doses may be why shareholders appeared uninterested in the company today.
Three groups of mice were treated with varying intravenous doses of up to 1,000 milligrams per kilogram of weight. In contrast, the remaining group of three were treated with intravenous doses up to 250 milligrams per kilogram of weight. Both of these studies revealed relatively similar results.
Azithromycin was the positive control in the study given twice daily at 200 mg/kg and showed a bactericidal effect.
What Recce management said
Recce CEO James Graham said the results were strong for a range of Recce research targets.
We're continually excited by the potential of Recce's anti-infective compounds and are encouraged by these positive indications. Moreover, this further enhances the breadth of Recce's synthetic polymer platform.
Recce share price snapshot
The Recce share price has offered a one-year return of 276% but is down 3.5% this week, 8.5% this month and 9% this year to date. At its current price, Recce has a market capitalisation of $167.7 million.
