Scancell focuses on the US in a transformational year
Scancell Holdings plc, (‘Scancell’ or the ‘Company’) the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2015.
Highlights:
• Completion of the main study period of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SCIB1 ImmunoBody® in patients with Stage III/IV melanoma with continued strong survival data
- All 20 patients with resected disease remain alive
- Median observation time in 16 patients who received 2-4mg is now 42 months since study entry and 11 remain disease free
- Median observation time in four resected patients who received 8mg is 10 months and all remain disease free
- All nine patients currently on long-term treatment remain disease free up to 39 months from start of SCIB1 treatment
- Final clinical study report expected in H1 2016
• Continued good progress in development of lead product, Modi-1, from Moditope® platform
- Improvement in peptide components suggest Modi-1 will be effective in up to 95% of patients with triple negative breast and ovarian cancers
- Clinical studies anticipated to commence in 2017
- Important paper outlining the scientific basis for the Moditope® platform published in revered cancer journal, Cancer Research
• Loss for the six month period of £1.17 million (2014: loss: £1.34 million)
• Group cash balance at 31 October 2015 was £1.81 million (30 April 2015: £3.06 million)
Post Period Highlights:
• Prestigious US scientific team to lead Phase 2 checkpoint inhibitor combination study with SCIB1, expected to commence in 2017
• Results from first pilot study indicate ImmunTraCkeR® has the potential to be used as a companion diagnostic to predict early response to SCIB1. Further studies planned
• John Chiplin appointed Chairman, succeeding David Evans who has stepped down from the role
Richard Goodfellow, Joint CEO of Scancell, said: “Scancell is in the midst of an exciting transformation. Our focus on the US has resulted in the appointment of Dr Keith Flaherty, one of the world leaders in melanoma clinical research as Principal Investigator for our planned SCIB1/checkpoint inhibitor combination study. The SCIB1 survival data, especially in patients with resected disease, is extremely encouraging. All 20 patients with resected Stage III/IV disease remain alive and only five have any evidence of disease progression. The strength of the Moditope® platform has been endorsed by the publication of data supporting its scientific basis in Cancer Research, one of the most influential cancer journals in the world. We have strengthened the clinical development team with the appointment of Dr Peter Brown, former Global Head of Oncology at Teva Pharmaceuticals and recently appointed Dr John Chiplin as Chairman, both of whom are US based. We are attracting renewed interest from both investors and pharmaceutical companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Cancer immunotherapy is becoming one of the most important clinical advances of our generation and I have never been more optimistic about the Company, its research and the potential for future growth.”
