Allarity Therapeutics and Detsamma Investments, which trades as FivepHusion, have announced a clinical collaboration agreement.
Allarity is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing novel oncology therapeutics and drug-specific DRP companion diagnostics for personalised cancer care.
FivepHusion is an advanced clinical-stage biotechnology company developing Deflexifol, an optimised all-in-one formulation of the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and its biomodulator leucovorin (LV).
Under the agreement, Allarity will support FivepHusion’s clinical development of Deflexifol for the treatment of solid tumours by using certain of Allarity’s drug-specific DRPcompanion diagnostics, including its DRP-5FU companion diagnostic, to potentially select patients for enrollment and treatment in clinical trials of Deflexifol as a monotherapy and in combination with other drugs.
Deflexifol is a novel anti-cancer drug reformulation designed to address the safety and efficacy limitations of standard-of-care 5FU chemotherapy. In a single infusion, it combines 5FU and LV, a drug that potentiates 5FU anti-tumour activity, to improve the therapeutic activity of 5FU.
FivepHusion said it expects to start a phase 1b/2a study investigating Deflexifol in combination with oxaliplatin and bevacizumab for the first-line treatment of unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer patients in the second half of 2023.
FivepHusion CEO and managing director Dr Christian Toouli said, “We are excited to collaborate with Allarity Therapeutics to evaluate the drug-specific DRP companion diagnostic technology as part of our upcoming Deflexifol phase 1b/2a trial in first line unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer. This collaboration has the potential to develop an exciting precision medicine companion diagnostic for oncologists, facilitating administration of Deflexifol™ to likely patient responders as a superior treatment for a range of solid tumours with significant unmet medical need.”
Allarity CEO James G. Cullem added, “Allarity is thrilled to work together with FivepHusion to support the clinical advancement of their lead Deflexifol™ program by evaluating the potential of DRP companion diagnostics to select cancer patients most likely to respond to this novel and improved formulation of the widely-used chemotherapeutic 5FU. Together with the FivepHusion team, we look forward to advancing true personalised cancer care by using DRP companion diagnostics to help provide Deflexifol to patients that will most likely benefit from this promising therapeutic candiate.”
