3rd Mar 2020 16:07
(Alliance News) - PureTech Health PLC on Tuesday said it has dosed the first patient in a phase 1 clinical trial of wholly-owned lymphoedema drug candidate LYT-100.
Shares in biotherapeutics firm PureTech were down 2.6% at 295.00 pence in London in afternoon trading.
LYT-100 is intended to treat lymphoedema, a chronic and progressive condition which results in severe swelling, often of the arms or legs, as a result of "the build-up of lymph fluid and inflammation, fibrosis and adipose deposition".
Lymphoedema can result in the affected limb losing its range of motion and function, as well pain and disfigurement, and affects around 1 million people in the US. At present the only treatments involve physical therapy and compression to limit swelling, with no drug therapies approved by the US Food & Drug Administration.
The "multiple ascending dose and food effect" phase 1 study is intended to determine the safety, tolerability, and profile of the drug in healthy participants. This follows a previous single ascending dose trial, also in healthy volunteers.
The most common form of lymphoedema is secondary lymphoedema, which can develop following surgery, trauma, or infection and is frequently the result of cancer or cancer treatment.
Results from the phase 1 trial are due in 2020 and will help PureTech begin its proof-of-concept study in patients "with breast cancer-related, upper limb secondary lymphoedema later in 2020".
PureTech Co-Founder & Chief Executive Daphne Zohar said: "Our model at PureTech has always been to identify, invent and advance novel therapeutics. We work with the world's leading experts in a discovery process that breaks down specific diseases and comprehensively reviews and empirically tests unpublished scientific discoveries in a modality agnostic and unbiased way. This approach has enabled us to rapidly convert findings into valuable therapeutic product candidates, which historically have been housed in subsidiaries.
"The advancement of LYT-100 is another example of executing on our strategy to develop a therapeutic solution for significant need, though this time the product candidate will continue to be wholly owned by PureTech."
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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