ROSGard™ shows renal protective effect during radiation therapy
A1M Pharma announces that the active substance in the company's candidate drug ROSGard™ shows a strong renal protective effect in connection with radiation therapy (PRRT) in a short-term preclinical study with an animal model. Results of the effect 6 months after treatment are expected by the end of Q1 2017.
During the autumn of 2016, A1M Pharma chose kidney protection in connection with molecular targeted therapy to treat tumours (PRRT) as their first clinical application within acute kidney injury (AKI). PRRT is often used to treat aggressive endocrine cancer tumours in the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs. The treatment's severe effect on the patients' kidneys limits the maximum radiation dose that can be used, both in separate radiation treatments and in total.
The aim is to administer the company's candidate drug ROSGard™ to patients in connection with each radiation therapy session in order to increase the efficacy of the treatment while protecting the kidneys.
A1M Pharma has already observed a strong renal protective effect in preclinical studies with an animal model when the active substance in ROSGard is administered in connection with radiation therapy. So far, the renal protective effect has been studied 1-8 days after treatment. The results of the long-term follow up, six months after treatment, are expected to be available by the end of Q1 2017.
"The strong renal protective effect of the active substance in ROSGard™ in this short-term preclinical study is very encouraging, although it is important to emphasize that we are still in early preclinical phase. The results strengthen our conviction that kidney protection in connection with targeted radiation therapy was a correct choice as our first clinical application within acute kidney injury. I am looking forward to present more conclusive results by the end of Q1 2017 when the data six months after treatment is expected to be available", says A1M Pharma's Head of Development Eddie Thordarson.
In parallel with the preclinical studies, A1M is evaluating potential partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies for the continued development of the project. The company notices a strong interest in the renal protective effects of the active substance in the candidate drug ROSGard™ within the two key focus areas preeclampsia and acute kidney injury.
For more information, please contact
Tomas Eriksson, CEO
Telephone: +46 46-286 50 30
Email: te@a1m.se
About PRRT – molecular targeted therapy
Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy, PRRT, is a type of molecular targeted therapy used to treat tumours, commonly malignant tumours with the generic term neuroendocrine tumours or NETs. When aggressive, these tumours are fatal and can spread quickly to the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs. During PRRT treatment the patient is given a substance consisting of two parts, a tumour targeting peptide and a radioactive substance that breaks down the cell tissue. This powerful oxidation reaction creates waste products that ends up in the kidneys. It is the harmful effects of these waste products that the active substance in A1M Pharma's candidate drug ROSGard™ is expected to eliminate and thus protect the kidneys. A renal protective treatment enabling an increase of the maximum radiation dose in connection with PRRT treatment, in separate sessions and/or in total, has the potential to reach the market relatively quickly considering the serious and fatal effects of NET cancer tumours.
About A1M Pharma
A1M Pharma develops a diagnostic method and novel treatment for the damaging effects of pre-eclampsia, a condition that affects around 10 million pregnant women worldwide. This disorder is responsible for 76,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths each year. It is also the cause of 15 per cent of all premature births. Currently, there is no predictive diagnostic method or treatment for impairments to kidney function associated with pre-eclampsia. In serious cases, doctors are forced to terminate the pregnancy which leads to premature infants and results in a substantial health care cost burden. Several preclinical studies indicate that A1M Pharma’s candidate drug, ROSGard™, based on the endogenous protein alpha-1-microglobulin, restores impairments to kidney function by repairing damaged tissue and protecting against oxidative stress. Kidney injury is a condition which is often associated with major surgery and with cancer treatments using radiation therapies. The company is therefore also developing a treatment for these acute kidney injuries. The first indication is kidney protection in connection with PRRT – a targeted radiation therapy for cancer – with the aim of opening the possibility of increasing treatment levels and so fight the cancer more effectively. Every year, over 12 million people are affected by acute kidney injuries that can lead to permanent kidney damage.
This information is information that A1M Pharma AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact persons set out above on 9 December 2016, at 8:30 a.m CET.