REG - Destiny Pharma PLC - New XF-73 research programme

Destiny PharmaAnnouncement

05/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 2583R  Destiny Pharma PLC  05 July 2022

Destiny Pharma plc

("Destiny Pharma" or the "Company")

 

Destiny Pharma announces start of a new XF-73 research programme

 

Aim to test XF-73 as a potential preventive medicine for Oral Mucositis

 

Oral Mucositis is a common and devastating complication from chemotherapy and
radiotherapy suffered by more than 2m cancer patients every year

 

Brighton, United Kingdom - 05 July 2022 - Destiny Pharma plc (AIM: DEST), a
clinical-stage innovative biotechnology company focused on the development of
novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening infections, today announces
that it has started a new research programme. The research study will be
conducted in the US by Oral Mucositis ("OM") expert Professor Stephen Sonis
and will investigate the potential of XF-73 as a preventive medicine to
alleviate suffering from OM in patients receiving cancer treatment by testing
its efficacy in the gold-standard model of OM.

 

The potential utility of XF-73 in this indication is due to the
long-recognised association between the development of OM and changes in the
oral microbiome. The unique antimicrobial properties of XF‑73 have already
been demonstrated in Phase 2 clinical trials. As well as having fast-acting
antimicrobial activity and a novel mechanism of action, XF-73 has an excellent
safety profile and a lack of systemic exposure which means that it is ideally
suited for development as an innovative oral formulation to reduce the
severity of OM.

 

Inflammation of the mucosa (mucositis) is considered one of the most serious
non-hematological complications of cancer treatment and a common dose-limiting
complication of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer and bone
marrow transplant patients of all ages. Globally, more than two million cancer
patients suffer from this condition each year. The global OM market was
estimated at $2.2b in 20181 (#_ftn1) .

Despite its frequency and devastating impact, there are few approved
preventive or treatment options available to help patients suffering from OM.
Professor Stephen Sonis, DMD, DMSc, is a Professor of Oral Medicine at the
Harvard School of Dental Medicine and also CSO at Biomodels, LLC. Prof. Sonis
is a leading OM expert and his development of predictive research models has
enabled investigation of the biological basis of cancer regimen-related
epithelial injury in over 100 projects.

Neil Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Destiny Pharma, added: "Oral Mucositis
is a very serious condition affecting millions of cancer patients across the
world and is poorly treated by current products. A successful preventative
product will save healthcare costs and improve patient care whilst supporting
a stronger patient to complete their full course of treatment and thereby make
a significant contribution to improved clinical outcomes. This new project
utilises the unique profile of our XF platform in a new cancer related
indication and we look forward to testing its potential in gold-standard OM
models."

 

ENDS

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Destiny Pharma plc
Neil Clark, CEO

Shaun Claydon, CFO

+44 (0)1273 704 440
pressoffice@destinypharma.com
(https://www.destinypharma.com/2022/05/26/26-may-2022-destiny-pharma-plc-board-changes/blank)

 

Optimum Strategic Communications
(https://www.destinypharma.com/2022/05/26/26-may-2022-destiny-pharma-plc-board-changes/blank)

Mary Clark / Manel Mateus / Eleanor Cooper

+44 (0) 203 922 0891
DestinyPharma@optimumcomms.com
(https://www.destinypharma.com/2022/05/26/26-may-2022-destiny-pharma-plc-board-changes/blank)

 

finnCap Ltd (Nominated Advisor and Broker)
Geoff Nash / Kate Bannatyne / George Dollemore, Corporate Finance

Alice Lane / Nigel Birks / Harriet Ward, ECM

+44 (0) 207 220 0500

 

MC Services AG
Anne Hennecke / Andreas Burckhardt

+49-211-529252-12

 

About Destiny Pharma

Destiny Pharma is a clinical stage, innovative biotechnology company focused
on the development of novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening
infections. Its pipeline has novel microbiome-based biotherapeutics and XF
drug clinical assets including NTCD-M3, a Phase 3 ready treatment for the
prevention of C. difficile infection (CDI) recurrence which is the leading
cause of hospital acquired infection in the US and also XF-73 nasal gel, which
has recently completed a positive Phase 2b clinical trial targeting the
prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal hospital infections including MRSA.
It is also co-developing SPOR-COV(TM), a novel, biotherapeutic product for the
prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections and has earlier
grant funded XF drug research projects.

 

For further information on the company, please visit www.destinypharma.com
(https://www.destinypharma.com)

 

Notes to Editors

 

About Oral Mucositis

Inflammation of the mucosa (mucositis) is a common dose limiting complication
of high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer patients of all ages. It
can affect the mucosa of the entire gastrointestinal system from oral cavity
to anus. Oral Mucositis ("OM") is common and occurs in 40-70% of patients
undergoing high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy. OM is responsible for
reduction or cessation of cancer treatment in 35% of patients, impacting the
clinical outcome interventions (Sonis, 2014).

 

Despite its frequency and impact there are few approved preventive or
treatment options. Existing treatments are unsatisfactory, consisting of
mouthwashes and sprays containing anaesthetics, steroids, protective hydrogels
and/or local pain management.

 

The target market for XF-73OM is estimated at over 2m OM patients/year. The
global OM market was estimated at $2.2b in 2018 (OM Market Size, Growth and
Trends by Cause - 2020) and is split across countries broadly in proportion to
the incidence of cancer and chemotherapy treatments.

 

Smaller, targeted indications include BMT patients where severe OM is reported
in >80% of patients. There are >2,000 BMTs every year in the UK and an
estimated 50,000 BMTs are completed globally.

OM patients require specialised care such as parenteral nutrition, fluid
replacement and anti-infective treatment. A single point increase in peak
mucositis scores in hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients is associated
with one additional day of fever, a 2‑fold increase in risk of significant
infection, 2.7 additional days of total parenteral nutrition, 2.6 additional
days of injectable narcotic therapy, 2.6 additional days in hospital and a 3.9
fold increase in 100-day mortality risk.

 

The healthcare cost of OM is substantial. In the US, the estimated cost of
hospitalisation was $3,893/chemotherapy cycle without OM, $6,277/cycle with
OM. In one study of patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck
cancer, OM was associated with an increase in costs ranging from $1,700 -
$6,000/patient, depending on the grade of OM. Costs in UK and elsewhere are
similar. OM is a global condition affecting all ages, races and genders.

 

 

 

 

 

1 (#_ftnref1) OM Market Size, Growth and Trends by Cause - 2020

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