Patrys doses second group in myeloma trial

Patrys (ASX:PAB) has completed initial treatment for the second of four groups of patients in a phase I/IIa trial of anticancer antibody PAT-SM6 in multiple myeloma.

The three patients in the second group were treated at the University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany. Each received four doses of PAT-SM6 at a dose level of 1 mg/kg.

Preliminary results from the trial show that one patient showed evidence of stable disease at 35 days post-treatment. Patrys added that no significant safety issues have been observed to date among any of the three patients.

Trial co-lead investigator Dr Leo Rasche of University Hospital said the results so far are encouraging.

“All of the patients we treated have very advanced and rapidly progressing disease and we are delighted that one of them has shown stabilisation of his disease,” he said. “In such resistant patients, this is a significant observation.”

The clinical trial is an open-label multidose escalation study. It will involve a total of 12 multiple myeloma patients who have failed all currently marketed drugs and have a very poor prognosis.

The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of escalating PAT-SM6 doses, while a secondary goal is evaluating efficacy. The antibody was found to be well tolerated during a phase I single-dose trial.

Patrys completed initial dosing for the first group of three patients in the phase I/IIb study during December last year.

PAT-SM6 has potential applications in a wide range of cancer types. The company is also at the clinical trial stage for melanoma.

Patrys shares were trading 25% higher at $0.03 as of around 3.30 pm on Wednesday.