PharmAust to kick off dog cancer drug trials in two Australian states

ASX listed PharmAust has taken the next significant step in the development of its exciting canine cancer drug known as Monepantel or MPL.

The company this week announced that it had added two new locations to its Phase 2 trials in Australia, one at the Animal Referral Hospital at Homebush, NSW and the other at Queensland Veterinary Specialists in Brisbane.

This is positive news for the company who were recently successful in combating the palatability issues they had with the previous formulation of the drug.

Both new locations will receive 1000 of the new, reformulated Monepantel capsules which will be distributed to pet owners to administer to their sick dogs.

Tumour regression or progression will be monitored by each respective surgery to evaluate the efficacy of the drug.

This evaluation study along with the one conducted at the Department of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Cambridge is very important for Pharmausts’ research and Option agreement with Novartis Animal Health to develop canine cancer drugs.

With almost 80 million pet dogs in the US alone and the cost of cancer treatment close to $550 million a year, the successful trial of Monepantel could catapult ASX listed PharmAust onto the global front line in the fight against dog cancer.

Importantly the drug had positive outcomes in its previous trials in Sydney and Adelaide which has led to a degree of market anticipation surrounding its possible performance in humans.