PharmAust recruits first dogs for anti-cancer drug trial

Pet owners have rallied to help ASX-listed PharmAust start to evaluate the effects of its newly formulated anti-cancer drug, “Monepantel” on dogs suffering from B-cell lymphoma in a planned phase IIb clinical trial. The Perth-based company, who hopes to further substantiate Monepantel’s tumour-reduction qualities, says several hounds have already been successfully recruited and have commenced treatment with Monepantel tablets. More dogs are still required.

PharmAust’s phase IIb trial is the next major step after its phase I trial in humans and phase II and IIa trials in pet dogs using the same anti-cancer drug were recently conducted. According to the company, its phase II trial in canines with B-cell lymphoma, the most prevalent canine cancer, saw a regression of tumours and a stabilisation of the disease.

Monepantel trial centres have now been established at five veterinary clinics in WA, NSW and Queensland to evaluate the performance of the anti-cancer drug.

The drug is administered to dogs that have not undergone any treatment to-date for the disease. Two further trial sites, in Melbourne and Sydney, are awaiting approvals and expected to come on stream soon.

PharmAust says dog owners interested in enrolling their pooches in the Monepantel trial need to contact their vet for a referral to the nearest trial centre, whilst vets who have queries about patient referrals or trial sites can contact the PharmAust Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Richard Mollard.

Vet clinics participating in the Monepantel program are the Animal Referral Hospital in Homebush, Sydney, the Animal Referral Hospital in Brisbane, Veterinary Specialist Services in Brisbane, Western Australian Veterinary Emergency and Specialties in Success, Perth and Perth Veterinary Specialists in Osborne Park, Perth.

According to PharmAust, its previous testing demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Monepantel for dogs that have not undergone any treatment for this type of cancer, however, the earlier iteration of the drug formula resulted in an unpleasant taste. The company has now reformulated the drug from liquid to a more convenient, easy-to-swallow and a lot tastier anti-cancer tablet for dogs.

PharmAust says it has undertaken detailed analysis of the trial data to understand drug blood level variations and importantly, it has developed a new dosing methodology that aims to achieve the lower drug blood levels of Monepantel that are associated with the highest cancer-fighting activity.

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