Investor Centre

Clinical stage drug development company Pharmaxis Ltd (ASX: PXS) today announced that it has initiated the first of 5 new trial sites in Taiwan as it progresses the phase 2 clinical trial of its drug PXS-5505 in patients with the bone marrow cancer myelofibrosis. These latest centres join 11 active sites across Australia and South Korea with a further 4 centres in the US expected to come on stream in coming months.  

Pharmaxis CEO Gary Phillips said, “This planned initiation of new trial sites in Taiwan will bring the total number of active sites to 16.  The study is making pleasing progress as it builds to a recruitment target of 24 patients. This latest expansion of sites is part of a focused effort by the company to bring patients into the trial and deliver results by the year end.”  

Mr Phillips added, “We know from the earlier dose escalation study that PXS-5505 will fully block the LOX enzymes that play a fundamental part in the bone marrow fibrosis that characterises myelofibrosis, giving hope that the drug can modify the course of the disease.  The good tolerability profile, which is a key differentiator from current standard of care, was first demonstrated in healthy volunteers and then backed up by myelofibrosis patients on 1 month of therapy in the dose escalation study.  I am pleased to report that we now have experience with patients who have had 3 or more months of therapy on PXS-5505 and that the good tolerability profile is being maintained.”