The Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price jumped out of the starting blocks today, shooting up 7% to a high of $3.66. This was after the biopharma company announced a key update on results from one of its research programs.
The Race Oncology share price has since lost some ground, however, and is currently trading at $3.46, still 2.37% higher than yesterday's closing price.
Here's what we know.
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Positive melanoma study results
Race Oncology advised today that its anti-cancer drug label, Zantrene, was shown to be effective in destroying highly active skin cancer cells in mice.
This followed promising results from its "collaborative preclinical melanoma research program" with the University of Newcastle.
The company said the program involved researchers exploring Zantrene's effectiveness as a novel treatment for the malignant type of skin cancer known as melanoma.
Interim results demonstrated Zantrene to be "highly effective at killing a diverse range of high FTO producing melanoma cell subtypes".
This means is that Zantrene is showing early signs of potentially becoming a treatment for melanoma.
However, there is still a whole wave of evidence to produce, and a mountain of regulatory headwinds to overcome before that becomes reality.
Nonetheless, key takeouts from the study include that Zantrene is "highly effective in killing melanoma cells at sub-chemotherapeutic levels", and that it achieved these results at low concentrations.
Race Oncology believes the results were "highly supportive" of future clinical trials to investigate Zantrene's use as a combination therapy in melanoma treatment.
Management commentary
Speaking on the announcement, Race Oncology CEO Phillip Lynch said the company was encouraged by its work so far:
While challenged by COVID-19 related shutdowns, we appreciate the encouraging and continued work from the team at the University of Newcastle.
Zantrene continues to positively surprise us – we are very pleased with these early results. Melanoma remains a difficult cancer to treat, and one that's of particular relevance to the Australian community, so as we continue with this work, we look forward to learning more about our potential to offer new treatment options to patients.
Race Oncology share price snapshot
The Race Oncology share price has climbed 97% year to date and rallied 12.7% in the past month.
Over the past 12 months, Race Oncology shareholders have enjoyed a return of 339.4%, well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)'s gain of about 25% in this time.
