Patrys a leading ASX gainer on brain tumour trial breakthrough

Shares rise 80% to a 12-month high on strong volume.

Pre-clinical data shows that PAT‐DX1 has crossed the blood brain barrier

Patrys Limited (ASX:PAB) surged to a 12-month high of $0.04 on news that its drug candidate PAT‐DX1 has been shown to reduce brain tumour size in animal trials.

Shares were a leading ASX gainer today, up almost 80% on strong volume of more than 124 million.

The company has received further pre‐clinical data for PAT‐DX1, which is its’ humanised version of the 3E10 anti‐DNA antibody.

READ: Patrys wins another U.S. patent for its unique cancer antibody

Doctors James Hansen and Jiangbing Zhou of Yale University have shown that PAT‐DX1 administered by tail vein injection crossed the blood brain barrier to significantly reduce tumour size.

Tests were carried out in an orthotopic animal model of glioblastoma using human tumour explants.

Evaluation of brain sections showed that the glioblastoma tumours in mice treated with PAT‐DX1 were more than 40% smaller than the comparable tumours in control mice.

The blood brain barrier is a protective layer of endothelial cells that only allows certain molecules to transit from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain.

Barrier represents a major challenge

This barrier is a significant challenge to the delivery of therapeutics, as only a very limited number of molecular classes can cross into the brain.

To date, very few proteins or antibodies have been shown to transit across the barrier from the blood to the brain.

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive, highly malignant form of brain cancer characterised by very fast cellular reproduction.

Glioblastomas constitute circa 15% of all primary brain cancers and are a significant unmet therapeutic need, with a median survival period of 18 months, depending on disease severity.

Focused on antibody development

Based in Melbourne, Patrys is focused on the development of antibodies as therapies for a range of different cancers.

Patrys has a pipeline of anti-cancer antibodies for both internal development and as partnering opportunities.