Faron Pharma leaps on new data for Clevegen

London-listed Finnish biopharma company Faron Pharmaceuticals (AIM: FARN) saw its shares rise as much as 20% to 377 pence this morning, after it said its cancer drug had reduced risk of death by 88% in a clinical trial.

Faron provided an update from its ongoing Clevegen (bexmarilimab) MATINS study, indicating significant efficacy signals among a number of patients in Part II of the trial, alongside a recommendation from the study's data monitoring committee (DMC) to increase the dosing frequency in all cohorts showing early clinical benefits.

The Phase I/II MATINS clinical trial is investigating the tolerability, safety and preliminary efficacy of bexmarilimab, Faron's wholly-owned novel precision cancer immunotherapy targeting Clever-1, a receptor known to be expressed on immunosuppressive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. In this trial bexmarilimab is being investigated as a potential monotherapy in patients with solid tumors who have exhausted all treatment options.