Matinas' MAT2203 scores well in Phase II cryptococcal meningitis trial

Shares of US drug developer Matinas BioPharma (NYSE AMER: MTNB) shot up more than 22% to $0.85 on Friday, when it announced positive interim data from Cohort 4, the fourth and final cohort of the Phase II EnACT trial evaluating MAT2203, an oral LNC formulation of amphotericin B, for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis.

Importantly, the firm noted, Cohort 4 (an all-oral treatment regimen with MAT2203) met its prespecified primary endpoint, exceeding the target rate of CSF yeast clearance threshold of >0.20 colony forming units (CFUs) per mL of cerebrospinal fluid per day. Overall survival in Cohort 4, a key secondary endpoint of the study, is 95 % at two weeks and currently 90% overall, with ongoing final follow-up through 18 weeks.

Cryptococcal meningitis is a fungal infection that affects the brain, and causes a serious disease in immunosuppressed people living with HIV across the globe. There are around 180,000 cryptococcal meningitis-related deaths each year, the majority of which occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Current treatments are either a 7 or 14-day course of amphotericin-B, combined with either oral antifungal tablets or oral fluconazole.