STOCKHOLM, April 17,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medivir AB (NASDAQ
Stockholm: MVIR), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing
innovative treatments for cancer in areas of high unmet medical
need, announces that a poster entitled 'A triple
combination of fostrox (MIV-818) with immune checkpoint and kinase
inhibition shows increased anti-tumor efficacy in vivo,' will
be presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) Annual Meeting by Fredrik Öberg, CSO at Medivir.
Fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox) is an orally administered
liver-targeted prodrug currently undergoing a phase 1/2a clinical
study in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in combination
with Keytruda® (anti-PD1) or Lenvima® (kinase inhibitor)
(NCT0341818). In previous studies, Fostrox has shown significantly
increased anti-tumor effect in combination with both anti-PD1 and
kinase inhibitors in non-clinical tumor models, which opens the
door for a potentially further enhanced tumor effect with a triple
combination.
The poster supports this potential as it exhibits that fostrox
combined with both anti-PD1 and Lenvima® shows a synergistic
anti-tumor effect in a non-clinical tumor model characterized by
the same low, underlying DNA damage seen in patients with HCC. The
poster also shows that fostrox induces increased tumor infiltration
of CD8+ T cells as well as increased expression of PD-L1 and LAG-3,
indicating increased immune-mediated antitumor activity. The
results indicate a potential for triple combination of anti-PD1 and
Lenvima® with fostrox in the treatment of HCC.
"Although existing combination treatments for HCC can prolong
patients' lives, far from all patients respond to the treatment. In
order for more patients to obtain a satisfactory effect on their
treatment, new combination options with several different, additive
mechanisms of action are needed. Fostrox, with its unique,
liver-targeted activity, opens up for new combinations with three
different approaches to effectively treat HCC," says Pia Baumann, CMO at Medivir.
The poster will be available on Medivir's website after the
presentation.
For additional information, please contact
Magnus Christensen, CFO, Medivir
AB
Telephone: +46 8 5468 3100
E-mail: magnus.christensen@medivir.com
About fostrox
Fostrox is a pro-drug designed to selectively treat liver cancers
and to minimize side effects. It has the potential to become the
first liver-targeted and orally administered drug for patients with
HCC and other forms of liver cancer. Fostrox has completed a phase
1b monotherapy study, and a
combination study in HCC currently ongoing.
About primary liver cancer
Primary liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related
deaths worldwide and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most
common cancer that arises in the liver. Although existing therapies
for advanced HCC can extend the lives of patients, treatment
benefits are insufficient and death rates remain high. There are
42,000 patients diagnosed with primary liver cancer per year in the
US and current five-year survival is
11 percent. HCC is a heterogeneous disease with diverse etiologies,
and lacks defining mutations observed in many other cancers. This
has contributed to the lack of success of molecularly targeted
agents in HCC. The limited overall benefit, taken together with the
poor overall prognosis for patients with intermediate and advanced
HCC, results in a large unmet medical need.
About Medivir
Medivir develops innovative drugs with a focus on cancer where the
unmet medical needs are high. The drug candidates are directed
toward indication areas where available therapies are limited or
missing and there are great opportunities to offer significant
improvements to patients. Medivir is focusing on the development of
fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox), a pro-drug designed to
selectively treat liver cancer cells and to minimize side effects.
Collaborations and partnerships are important parts of Medivir's
business model, and the drug development is conducted either by
Medivir or in partnership. Birinapant, a SMAC mimetic, is
exclusively outlicensed to IGM Biosciences (Nasdaq: IGMS) to be
developed in combination with IGM-antibodies for the treatment of
solid tumors. Medivir's share (ticker: MVIR) is listed on Nasdaq
Stockholm's Small Cap list. www.medivir.com.
The following files are available for download:
https://mb.cision.com/Main/652/3751411/1986513.pdf
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SOURCE Medivir