The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price is pushing higher this morning following the release of an update.
At the time of writing, the biopharmaceutical company's shares are up 0.5% to $21.99.
What did Clinuvel announce?
This morning Clinuvel provided the market with an update on the use of its SCENESSE drug for the treatment of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP).
According to the release, the first male XP patient started SCENESSE treatment in September under a Special Access Program and has been closely monitored by the expert clinical centre responsible for medical care.
This includes regular clinical observations over the 42-day treatment period to assess the patient's health, including the response to overall SCENESSE treatment.
Today's update reveals that the patient tolerated the melanocortin drug well and no drug related adverse events have been reported.
In addition, specific attention was given to the consequences of ultraviolet (UV) exposure, pigmentation, and overall status of the patient's skin. This is because XP patients are known to exhibit poikiloderma (a degeneration and disintegration of the skin) and are prone to frequent bleeding from chronic wounds.
At the end of the 42 days, the integrity of the skin of the patient has shown to be unaffected by SCENESSE.
CLINUVEL's Clinical Operations Manager, Dr Pilar Bilbao, commented: "We are delighted with the consistent safety reports from the XP-C patient receiving systemic treatment with afamelanotide [SCENESSE]. This positive observation and clinical feedback from the treating physician form the basis for progressing the planned XP study, CUV150."
This bodes well for the company and supports previous findings. The company notes that scientific evidence supports the use of afamelanotide, the active ingredient in SCENESSE, to protect skin from UV and light (systemic photoprotection), and repair UV-induced DNA damage.
Further details of the company's DNA Repair Program will be provided in a strategic update, which is due to be released this month.
