The Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price is edging lower today despite a positive development by the pharmaceutical company.
At the time of writing, Race Oncology shares are fetching for $3.23, down 2.12%. This means over the past month, its shares have fallen almost 10%.
What did Race Oncology announce?
In its statement, Race Oncology advised it has entered into a research collaboration with Chaim Sheba Medical Centre in Israel.
The partnership will see the team at Chaim Sheba analyse clinical patient samples from the ongoing Zantrene study for FTO and related biomarkers. FTO refers to the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene, which mostly influences the body mass index (BMI).
Race Oncology is currently in a phase 1b/2 relapsed/refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Zantrene trial.
AML is a type of blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow and usually moves into the bloodstream. While treatment options are limited, if not addressed, AML can be life-threatening.
The biomarker testing is expected to provide better understanding from patient tumour samples before, during and after treatment with Zantrene.
Dr Dan Dominissini, a world-renowned expert in RNA biomarkers will oversee the FTO analysis.
Race Oncology chief science officer, Dr Daniel Tillett commented:
We are delighted to be extending our successful collaboration with the team at Chaim Sheba to generate important data on the effects of Zantrene on FTO and related molecules. These data will give us the first insights into the effect of Zantrene in patients on FTO and m6A RNA methylation and continues to advance our Three Pillar Strategy.
Chaim Sheba lead, Dr Dominissini added:
We are excited to see these basic discoveries translated into the clinic by the Zantrene study of Race Oncology for relapsed or refractory AML. We hope that our scientific collaboration will advance the understanding of the correlation between FTO and m6A status in AML and response to treatment.
About the Race Oncology share price
Race Oncology shares have gained more than 200% in the past 12 months and are up by more than 80% year to date.
Based on today's price, Race Oncology has a market capitalisation of about $542 million, with 143 million shares on issue.
