ASX Health Stocks: Argenica's traumatic brain injury drug works well in animal model

Argenica says drug works wonderfully in ferret trial

Brain tissue-focused biotech, Argenica Therapeutics (ASX:AGN), has announced results from a pilot study assessing the efficacy of lead drug ARG-007 in a ferret preclinical model of mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (modTBI).

The company said ARG-007 significantly reduced damage to brain cells in a ferrets model, a model that closely resembles the gross anatomy of the human brain.

Specifically, the results showed:

Notable decrease in the buildup of key proteins, amyloid precursor protein and neurofilament M-14.9, which are markers of brain cell injury after moderate traumatic brain injury.

Treatment with ARG-007 brought the protein levels in brain regions tied to memory and mental functioning back to levels seen in animals that weren’t injured.

There was also a significant decrease in the inflammation markers GFAP and Iba1, bringing them back to levels seen in non-injured animals, specifically in the brain region related to memory.

This matters because brain inflammation after a traumatic brain injury can lead to further damage that lasts well beyond the initial injury.

The study was undertaken by the University of Adelaide, and expands on previous published and announced data in rodent models of mod-TBI1.

The results announced today provide Argenica with further robust evidence regarding the potential of ARG-007 as a treatment following TBI.

Argenica will now continue to advance the preclinical efficacy studies in TBI including validating this study in a larger ferret study.

Amplia says Phase 2 is on track

Amplia Therapeutics (ASX:ATX) meanwhile said that its Phase 2a ACCENT trial for advanced pancreatic cancer is on track.

Newly diagnosed patients with advanced pancreatic cancer are receiving an oral dose of narmafotinib (400 mg, identified as optimal in Phase 1b) along with the standard chemotherapy drugs gemcitabine and Abraxane.

So far, 19 out of the planned 26 patients are enrolled in trial sites in Australia and South Korea.

An interim analysis will check if at least six patients show a partial response. If they do, another 24 patients will be added, making a total of 50 patients. Previously, 6 out of 14 patients had a partial response in the Phase 1b trial.

Amplia also said that it has successfully completed a cap raise of $4.27 million fully underwritten, non-renounceable offer at a price of $0.055 per share. The company will now issue 77,602,838 new shares as part of this.