ASX Health Stocks: Race Oncology blows past dosing stage of Phase 1, targets Phase 2

Race Oncology completed dosing stage of Phase, eyes Phase 2 trial
Immutep presents trials data at ASCO 2022 meeting
Clarity Pharma presents at the Jefferies Biotech Summit

Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) has completed the dose escalation stage of its Phase 1b/2 Zantrene study into ALM (acute myeloid leukemia).

The four-day treatment of Zantrene in combination with fludarabine and clofarabine has been completed in six patients with encouraging results.

One patient showed a complete response based on morphology, and two patients showed a partial response, including one with extramedullary disease.

Meanwhile another two patients showed no response, while another died from infection.

Infection is a known side effect of all intensive chemotherapeutic regimens, and is one of the leading causes of death in AML patients.

The trial is now set to progress to the Phase 2 efficacy (expansion) stage using a four-day schedule of Zantrene, in combination with fludarabine and clofarabine.

Up to 17 patients are expected be enrolled in the Phase 2 trial.

Race Oncology share price today:

Immutep and Clarity present data

Immuno oncology company, Immutep (ASX:IMM), says new interim data from its Phase II TACTI-002 trial has been published today in an abstract at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting.

Data from the trial will also be presented in an oral presentation on 3 June.

Immutep has shown that its lead drug candidate, Efti, in combination with pembrolizumab, demonstrated favourable anti-tumor activity in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

The latest results have shown an improved Overall Response Rate (ORR) of 37.3% in patients, compared to 36.1% presented at ASCO 2021.

In other news, radiopharmacy specialist Clarity Pharma (ASX:CU6) has also presented its data at the Jefferies Biotech Summit.

Clarity presented on the current pipeline of its proprietary SAR Technology platforms, which can be used to develop a range of theranostic radiopharmaceuticals that target different types of cancer.

At the heart of Clarity’s theranostic SAR Technology platform is a highly specific and highly stable bifunctional chelator (cage) that strongly binds and retains copper isotopes within it.

Its Targeted Copper Theranostics (TCT) device has been called the next-generation disruptive platform in radiopharmaceuticals. The technology employs the “perfect pairing” of copper-64 (64Cu) and copper-67 (67Cu), and is used in diagnosis and therapy respectively.