(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - N.America) Midatech Pharma Plc (LON: MTPH, NASDAQ:MTP) said there is the 'increasing potential' to fast-track one of its cancer treatments.
Excitement surrounds MTX110, which treats a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an ultra-rare childhood tumour with survival rates of almost zero.
The programme for MTX is around one-year ahead of schedule and the drug is being offered in the UK on a named patient basis.
There are regulatory meetings in Europe to explore a potential route to market, Midatech added.
Vaccine progress
In the same announcement the company confirmed it is preparing to begin a phase I clinical trial on MTX102, a potential vaccine against type 1 diabetes that might also be developed to treat cancer. First data from the study are expected in the second-half.
In a wide-ranging update, Midatech said candidate selection is 'ongoing' with a number of compounds for the treatment of glioblastoma (a type of brain tumour) and liver cancers ahead of an investigational new drug application.
The company said it has come up with a slow release formulation of MTD201, a treatment for acromegaly and carcinoid syndrome, after a preclinical study. It plans to submit an investigational new drug application to US regulators and begin bio-equivalence studies in late 2016.
MTD101 disappoints
It was not such good news for MTD101, or Midaform, an insulin strip, which failed to demonstrate the release profile seen in prior studies.
Midaform was born of its joint venture with Monosol Rx, called MidaSol Therapeutics.
Midatech said this morning it would 'begin the process of evaluating strategic options for this programme'.
Chief executive Jim Phillips said: "I am pleased with the progress we have made across our pipeline in oncology.
'We are obviously disappointed by the results in the insulin MidaSol legacy programme, however in the recent Q-Octreotide and OpsiSporin data we have made significant progress in 2016 validating the clinical platform and we look forward to now increasing our focus towards oncology, where our technology is better suited and where we have revenue generating products and have shown we can reach niche markets."
Broker remains bullish
The market appears to have taken fright at the news on MTD101, rather focusing on the positives elsewhere from an extensive and growing pipeline of drugs.
Dr Mike Mitchell, analyst at City broker Panmure Gordon, said there should be 'no negative read-across' from the results of the phase IIa study.
That's because MTD101 was only orally administered form of its gold nano-particle technology (GNP).
The rest are injected, which means bio-availability (how much of the drug is taken into the bloodstream) should be a lot better than it was with the insulin strip that dissolved in the mouth.
The shares fell 12% to 150p, well short of Mitchell's target of 380p (down from 476p).
'In our view, the breadth and depth of the pipeline not to mention the US commercial and marketing infrastructure reflects a business that has evolved rapidly since IPO,' he told investors.
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