Bivictrix Therapeutics PLC announced on Monday it has received ‘positive’ in vivo test results from its BVX002 solid tumour programme.

The Cheshire, England-based developer of cancer therapies said it had received its first in vivo data from BVX002, Bivictix’s lead solid tumour bispecific antibody drug conjugate program. The preclinical study is investigating BVX002 in a murine xenograft model of ovarian cancer, using the human cell line OVCAR-3.

BVX002 targets a novel, cancer-specific antigen pair found to be selectively expressed in a wide range of solid tumour indications, including cases of ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Internal evidence from primary patient samples suggests the antigen pair may be present in 60-70% of patients with high grade serous ovarian cancer.

Initial results showed ‘highly significant’ tumour growth inhibitions across all doses tested and tumour regressions of up to 63% were observed at the mid and high doses.

All doses of BVX002 were well tolerated in all mice, and tumours have continued to shrink in the mid to high dose arms two weeks after treatment ceased. This highlights the potential durability of BVX002’s anti-cancer effects.

In June this year, Bivictrix announced it had been awarded £400,000 from Innovate UK to support the preclinical work with BVX002. The company plans to file an investigational new drug application with the US Food & Drug Administration for BVX002 in due course.

Chief Executive Officer Tiffany Thorn said: ‘This first in vivo data marks the start of what we anticipate being an incredibly exciting preclinical data package for our lead solid tumour asset, BVX002. We are highly encouraged by the significance of the anti-tumour effect delivered by our therapeutic lead in this hard-to-treat model of ovarian cancer, which showcases the clear benefit of our proprietary bi-specific ADC approach in a solid tumour setting. We look forward to providing further updates as we expedite the development of this asset.’

Shares in Bivictrix Therapeutics were up 6.7% at 8.00 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.

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