juni 28, 2021
Ectin Research AB appoints LINK Medical Research as CRO as it heads towards CTA for landmark Phase I/II Study in metastatic bladder cancer patients
(Stockholm, Sweden, 24 June, 2021) Ectin Research AB has signed an agreement appointing LINK Medical Research AB to run its Phase I/II clinical study of metastatic bladder cancer patients treated with the drug candidate MFA-370. Ectin Research aims to submit its clinical trial application (CTA) to the Swedish Medical Products Agency, in collaboration with LINK Medical Research, followed by additional regulatory applications in two other countries.
Bladder cancer is one of the world’s most aggressive cancers (50-70% of cases recur, with 10-20% of these progressing to metastatic tumors) and the most expensive cancer to treat. The cost of bladder cancer cases in the US in 2020 was 173 BUSD. Current treatments of metastatic bladder cancer require frequent, long hospital visits, have limited efficacy and often cause severe side effects that can significantly reduce the patient’s quality of life.
Ectin Research’s innovative cancer treatment MFA-370 can be taken orally and is associated with few tolerable potential side effects. Ectin Research has now appointed LINK Medical Research as contract research organisation (CRO) for its Phase I/II metastatic bladder cancer study. The first part, the Phase I study, is a safety/tolerability study, which encompass MFA-370 treatment of approximately 10 patients in sites in Sweden, then followed by a Phase II study investigating clinical efficacy of the treatment extending to 30 patients in Sweden and two other countries in Europe. Ectin Research aims to submit its clinical trial application (CTA) to the Swedish Medical Products Agency, in collaboration with LINK Medical Research, followed by additional regulatory applications in two other countries.
Ectin Research CEO Anna Anna Sjöblom-Hallén: “We’re delighted to be partnering with LINK Medical Research, a highly experienced full-service CRO who we are confident will be an excellent collaborator for us as, together, we start our journey towards developing an ultimately safer, and more effective treatment for this terrible condition.”
MFA-370 combines two tolerable, well-established drugs into a novel cancer therapy. Both substances have previously been widely studied and have independently shown anti-cancer effects in experimental models of different cancer types. The company has achieved successful results in a number of different preclinical studies – showing that the substances unexpectedly enhance each other’s anti-cancer effect by lowering cancer cell proliferation as well as inducing cell death in bladder cancer cells and a number of different cell models of breast, colon and prostate cancer cells. MFA-370 will first be used to treat metastatic bladder cancer patients to show clinical efficacy but later could potentially be used to treat also e.g. breast, colon and prostate cancer.
For further information please contact:
Anna Sjöblom-Hallén, CEO
Mob: +46 734 30 93 30
Email: anna.sjoblom-hallen@ectinresearch.com
About LINK Medical
LINK Medical is a full-service contract research organization (CRO) providing product development services for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries across Northern Europe. We offer a well-integrated local presence in the Nordics, UK, and Germany. Reaching from early phase development to post-marketing, we provide expert guidance across every aspect of a project – all from ONE source. As a strategic partner, we provide expert competence and technology to enable evidence-based decision-making that support the delivery of superior clinical outcomes.
About Ectin Research AB
Ectin Research AB pharmaceutical company is developing a novel treatment that eliminates cancer tumors. Its drug candidate MFA-370 will first be trialled for the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer. MFA-370 consists of two existing drugs that have already undergone large-scale clinical trials and are currently widely used in other indications. In preclinical studies MFA-370 has achieved successful results for the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer, and has also shown promising potential in other cancers such as breast, colorectal and prostate cancer cells.
