Shares of biotechnology firm Destiny Pharma (LON: DEST) are rallying on Monday after the company announced positive top-line results from its Phase 2b clinical study testing its XF-73 nasal gel as a new product for the prevention of post-surgical infections.
Destiny Pharma’s share price is trading 22% higher at 195p after initially climbing to 250p after the announcement.
The company said that the primary efficacy endpoint was met with an exceptionally high statistical significance with no treatment-related safety issues.
XF-73 achieved a 99.5% reduction in S. aureus bacterial nasal carriage, which is a very effective reduction by accepted clinical measures, said Destiny.
There was also a greater than 99% reduction compared to placebo in the same patient population.
Full results will be published in due course.
“There is a global need for better treatments such as XF-73, which has been awarded Qualifying Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track status by the US FDA,” Destiny Pharma said.
The AIM-listed company now plans to discuss possible phase 3 clinical study designs with regulatory bodies, including the US FDA.
They believe there is a significant commercial opportunity for XF-73 in the hospital setting, which could generate peak annual product sales of up to $1 billion in the US alone.
“We are delighted with these excellent results. We have delivered strong confirmation from this Phase 2b study of the potential of XF-73 to prevent post-surgical infections such as MRSA caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus,” commented Neil Clark, CEO of Destiny Pharma.
“There is a significant global commercial opportunity for XF-73 nasal gel to help prevent hospital infections and this excellent data supports the proposed target product profile for XF-73 as being a safe, fast, effective decolonising nasal gel that is cost-efficient and easy to use in standard surgery protocols,” added Clark.
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