WntResearch has announced that the company has obtained positive results from the analyses of patient tumour tissue samples before and after treatment in a phase 1b study with Foxy-5 – a drug candidate intended to inhibit tumours from spreading in cancer patients. Based on the obtained results, the company has defined the dose level for the upcoming phase 2 study, which was one of the objectives with this clinical study.

In the phase 1b study, a total number of 12 patients with advanced cancer in colon, prostate or breast have been treated with Foxy-5. Gene expression analyses show that the second highest of four investigated dose levels results in the best biological effect in patient tumour tissue. The safety profile is continuously favourable and all the tested dose levels were well tolerated.

“The positive results have made it possible to choose a dose level with clear biological effect in the treated patients’ tumour tissue for evaluation in the upcoming phase 2 study. The biological effect that has been observed strengthens us in our belief that our drug candidate has a strong potential to reach and affect tumours in humans”, says Henrik Lawaetz, chief executive officer, WntResearch AB.

Further data for the chosen dose level will be generated in the now initiated concluding part of the study, a so called ”expansion group” with three patients. The phase 2 study is planned to commence later this year.

WntResearch is developing a new type of cancer treatment based on pioneering research, which shows that the endogenous protein Wnt-5a plays a crucial role for tumour cells’ ability to relocate and spread in the body. Most patients that die of cancer do so not due to the primary tumour, but due to metastases. The need for a specific treatment to counteract metastasis is therefore in high demand.