Phylogica soars on trial result
Shares in Perth-based biotech Phylogica enjoyed a massive spike yesterday after the company announced that a pilot study for one of its products revealed it has the ability to kill drug-resistant breast cancer cells.
Stock in the company, based at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research next to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, almost doubled to 4.8�.
Phylogica said its cell-penetrating peptides when linked with the cancer drug Omomyc - which is being developed in Spain - "kill aggressive drug-resistant breast cancer cells in vivo (in living cells)".
It said a combination of the cancer drug Cetuximab, Phylomer's own cell-penetrating peptides and Omomyc was also "more than three times more effective at killing drug-resistant breast cancer cells than either of these agents alone".
The company also said it found a "substantial reduction" in the size of tumours injected with its cell-penetrating peptides fusion when compared with controls.
"(But) this pilot study needs to be repeated using larger groups to confirm its significance," Phylogica said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
The company, which was formed in 2001, listed on the ASX in 2005 as a spin-out of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
It describes its "drug discovery platform" as based on its proprietary Phylomer libraries containing more than 400 billion unique natural peptides.
The 4.8¢-a-share finish was the stock's highest point for almost two years, valuing the company at $48 million.
