Alive and Kicking: Prescient Therapeutics chief passes CEO baton after eight years in the job

Alive and Kicking is renowned biotech journo Tim Boreham’s new daily wrap covering morning movers and shakers of note in the ASX Healthcare sector, Monday through Thursday.

Prescient Therapeutics chief Steve Yatomi-Clarke resigns to head up the private Aurora Biosynthetics
Telix Pharmaceuticals ‘mini me’ Clarity Pharmaceuticals offers more evidence its prostate cancer radiotherapy is safe and effective
Cancer phototherapy group Invion yet to feel the love despite flagging a skin cancer trial

Nine Entertainment’s Olympic torch-bearing CEO Mike Sneesby is not the only ASX corporate chieftain to hand over the baton today.

Over at Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX), Steve Yatomi-Clarke has resigned after more than eight years in the job, to become inaugural CEO of the private Aurora Biosynthetics.

Unusually, Yatomi-Clarke came to the job from a broking background, having been a corporate finance director at broker Paterson Securities. There, he was involved in big-ticket deals including Halcygen’s acquisition of the former Faulding operations (the precursor to Mayne Pharma).

He’s also a microbiologist, so he does know his way around a test tube as well.

Prescient chair Steve Engle credits Yatomi-Clarke with furthering development of the company’s t-cell lymphoma candidate PTX-100. As we reported last week, the company is angling for the US Food and Drug Administration to start a phase II trial pitched at expedited approval.

The company also has expansive cell therapy programs under the Cellpryme and Omnicar banners.

Yatomi-Clarke will stay on to February next year.

Prescient shares lost 7% to 4 cents this morning – a sign that Yatomi-Clarke indeed will be missed.

Meanwhile, if Sneesby has any interest in pivoting from publishing to primary endpoints it’s time to apply.

Here’s some Clarity on prostate cancer radiopharmacy trial

Radiopharmacy developer Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) says its prostate cancer trial has produced further evidence that its proposed therapy is safe to use, with “strong preliminary safety data” in the first multi dose cohort enrolled in the phase 1/2a safety study.

The trial, called Secure, uses the copper isotope 64Cu/67Cu-SAR-bis to image – and possibly treat – metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients expressing the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).

The company says the fourth cohort was the first to assess two cycles of the treatment at the highest of the allowable doses being appraised. Three patients completed the dose-limiting toxicity period (DLT) and another one will complete the DLT by the end of September.

“The safety profile of multiple doses of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA remains positive, with almost all adverse events being mild or moderate,” the company says.

“Furthermore, almost all adverse events have either been resolved or improved at the last assessment.”

What’s more, the participants showed a reduction of at least 60% in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and up to 92.3% – a good thing.

Based on this, the trial will enroll the last three patients in cohort four, after which the phase II stanza of Secure – a ‘cohort expansion’ enrolling up to 14 patients – will commence.

“The positive safety profile of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA, particularly compared to agents currently used to treat prostate cancer, lends itself to the treatment of patients much earlier in their disease,” says Clarity executive chair Dr Alan Taylor.

“We have commenced planning our clinical trials to focus on these earlier stages of prostate cancer.”

Radiopharmacy is by no means new, but is being improved by the mixing and matching of various isotopes and delivery methods.

Clarity is being widely compared to the $6.2 billion market cap Telix Pharmaceuticals, which has an approved prostate cancer imaging therapy in the US and a likely kidney cancer approval to come.

While Clarity is at an earlier stage, the stock has risen five-fold in the last year, ascribing a $2.4 billion market cap.

The shares this morning popped 3% to $7.60.

A real Body of evidence backs this cancer

In relation to cancer, photodynamic therapy sounds like something a certain supermodel might use as an alternative to clinically approved techniques.

In reality, it’s a legitimate method dating back more than a century, albeit under-developed.

Invion (ASX:IVX) seeks to change all that with its lead drug candidate INV-043, a novel photosensitisers for use in Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) .

By combining oxygen and light, photodynamic therapies are known to kill malignant cells and shut down tumors, with evidence they also stimulate the immune system. It’s less invasive than surgery and with minimal side effects.

Invion yesterday said it had been granted ethics approval for an open-label phase I/II trial on patients with non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC), using a topical form of INV-043.

NMSC accounts for about 98% of all skin cancers.

Aptly, the trial will be carried out in sunny Queensland, at Veracity Clinical Research’s trial facilities. Patient screening, treatment and follow-up is expected to start next month.

As is the norm, the trial will focus on safety, dose optimisation and “efficacy signals”.

The trial is adaptive, meaning that patients might be added along the way to evaluate certain aspects of the treatment. Thus, the patient numbers are expected to vary between 18 and 174.

“Our next-generation PDT has the potential to become an important alternative treatment for this and other cancers as it overcomes many key shortcomings of current standard of care,” Invion chief Thian Chew says.

“Preclinical studies have shown INV-043 to have a solid safety profile and strong efficacy against multiple cancers without scarring.”

Invion is also carrying out preclinical research in ano-genetical cancer, a cause which doesn’t exactly attract Pink Ribbon Day support but afflicts 1-2% of the population (and growing).

More than 500 PDT trials have taken place since Danish physiologist Prof Niels Finsen latched on to the idea in 1903, winning a Nobel Prize for his efforts. US and European regulators have approved two PDT treatments, for oesophageal and prostate cancers.

Invion shares popped from 0.2 cents to 0.3 cents after Wednesday’s news, but now are sadly back to where they were.

Hiring a decent influencer should sort this share price malaise.

This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.