Quay Pharma has reached an agreement with Redx Pharma Plc to manufacture Redx’s breakthrough cancer treatment drug. The new Porcupine inhibitor (RXC004) has the potential to tackle hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic, gastric and biliary.
Quay will formulate the capsules which will be administered during the drug’s first-in-human studies early 2017.
The novel potent small molecule Porcupine inhibitor targets the Wnt pathway, an embryonic signalling pathway that is implicated in the maintenance of cancer stem cells associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, recurrence and resistance in various cancers. It will have the potential for patients to take it orally as a once-daily dose.
“We are delighted that Redx has selected Quay Pharma based upon our formulation development expertise, unparalleled flexibility and successful track record of delivering clinical trial supplies on time,” comments Maireadh Pedersen, CEO of Quay Pharma.
Neil Murray, CEO of Redx Pharma, underlines the significance of the new Porcupine drug: “Less than 10% of pancreatic cancer patients survive five years from their diagnosis. The potential for this new class of drugs to tackle some of these difficult cancers could see a significant advance for patients who have few meaningful treatment options today.
“Our Porcupine inhibitor is an especially exciting clinical candidate, both scientifically and commercially. We are pleased to confirm that we remain on track to enter the clinical trial phase early 2017.”
Redx Pharma is a drug discovery company with a focus on developing proprietary, small molecule therapeutics in cancer, infection and autoimmune disease.
Quay Pharma’s range of services includes early stage (pre-clinical) formulation development, novel drug delivery design, analytical R&D development, stability testing, and clinical trial manufacture, commercial manufacture and packing of new drug compounds. The company offers particular expertise in oral dosage form design and semi solids formulation and development, in particular new drugs that exhibit poor solubility and bio-availability.
“We look forward to a successful collaboration with the team at Redx on their lead project in these important indications,” concludes Maireadh Pedersen.