The Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price is falling this afternoon. This comes after the company released an update about its DARRT-2 clinical trial.
At the time of writing, Noxopharm shares are swapping hands for 69 cents apiece, down 1.43%
What did Noxopharm announce?
Investors are selling Noxopharm shares after digesting the clinical-stage drug development company's latest release.
According to Noxopharm, it is on track to undertake a multi-national study for its flagship cancer-fighting drug, Veyonda. The drug is used in conjunction with radiotherapy.
Titled DARRT-2 (Direct and Abscopal Response to RadioTherapy), the phase 2 trial aims to treat late-stage prostate, breast and lung cancer patients for whom traditional treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed.
The trial seeks to generate the phenomenon of the abscopal response in cancer patients. This is when a low dose of radiation not only shrinks a targeted tumour, but triggers an immune response that results in other tumours melting away. Noxopharm hopes the cancer cells could be eradicated within a matter of weeks.
The phase 2 trial is seeking to recruit 100 participants across 15 sites in Australia, the United States, France, and Hungary. International contract research organisation Parexel has been appointed to oversee the study.
Management commentary
Noxopharm CEO and managing director Dr Graham Kelly said:
The abscopal response is a highly attractive cancer treatment goal because it provides the opportunity for a major anti-cancer outcome from a generally safe and minimally invasive treatment. The challenge is that it is a very rare phenomenon that to date has proven difficult to reproduce on a consistent basis.
Recent research has pointed to a reason for this being the need to block a certain type of repair process called autophagy of mitochondrial DNA damaged by the radiation. Other research points to idronoxil, the active ingredient in Veyonda, blocking autophagy. It is the combination of that effect and the drug's known immuno-stimulatory effects, together with the earlier DARRT-1 trial data, that provides the confidence that we might have the ability to achieve consistently higher response rates to make DARRT a practical treatment option.
Noxopharm share price summary
Despite today's dip, Noxopharm shares have surged by more than 250% over the past 12 months. The company's share price reached a 52-week high of 99 cents in February, before treading lower from profit taking.
On valuation grounds, Noxopharm has a market capitalisation of roughly $201 million, with approximately 288 million shares outstanding.
