Turku-based Faron Pharmaceuticals receives major funding for cancer drug development
Biopharmaceutical company Faron Pharmaceuticals has received a five-million-euro investment, reports Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). The company recently announced particularly interesting research results on the efficacy of its immunological drug bexmarilimab in cancer treatments.
In a somewhat unusual directed share issue, the company’s board of directors directed the issue to the company itself and the company then sold the shares on. The largest single investor was the US charity The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program, which invested half a million euros in Faron in exchange for shares.
“This is very important for us and will secure our operations in the first quarter of next year,” says Markku Jalkanen, CEO of Faron Pharmaceuticals.
According to Jalkanen, the financing will enable the company’s operations and plans.
“We are in a very interesting situation. We have taken big steps forward in the last 12 months,” says Jalkanen.
The company recently received particularly interesting research results on the efficacy of bexmarilimab, a drug it is developing for cancer treatment.
The results showed that on average 65% of patients who received the drug were alive a year after starting treatment, compared to only 11% of the control group who did not receive the drug.
Bexmarilimab is an immunological medicine that works by harnessing the body’s own defence system to treat cancer. Its safety and efficacy have been studied in ten hard-to-treat cancer groups. The common feature of these groups is metastasis or inoperability.
“What is also quite unique is that no side effects have been reported with the drug. This is very unusual in cancer treatment,” says Jalkanen.
However, getting marketing authorisation for a new drug is a long process. The drug is now roughly in the middle of its development phase. Markku Jalkanen does not want to estimate when the drug will be on the shelves.
“But the research results have been very significant, and the drug is intended for patients who no longer have other treatment options. The authorities may be more willing to grant waivers in such cases,” he says.
The efficacy and safety of the drug will be established in extensive phase III trials. The drug is proprietary, and patent protected by Faron.
Turun Sanomat article 28.6.2022 (in Finnish) Faron sai viiden miljoonan euron rahoituksen – lupaavan syöpälääkkeen kehitys turvattu ensi vuodelle