[Click eStock] "Pharos iBio, Time to Confirm New Drug Clinical Efficacy"

by Jang Hyowon

Published 04 Dec.2023 09:56(KST)

On the 4th, Korea Investment & Securities analyzed that it is time to confirm the efficacy of the global Phase 1 clinical trial for the acute myeloid leukemia indication of PHI-101, the main compound of Pharos iBio.

Pharos iBio is developing anticancer drugs and treatments for rare diseases using small molecule compounds. A notable point is its proprietary AI platform, Chemiverse. Chemiverse is based on big data from over 35 million types of academic papers and consists of a total of nine functions related to new drug development. Chemiverse enables everything from designing the structure of new compounds effective for target indications, predicting the efficacy and toxicity of designed compounds, to expanding additional indications for previously developed compounds.

Oh Eerim, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated in a report on the same day, “Pharos’s main compound PHI-101 is currently undergoing a global Phase 1 clinical trial for acute myeloid leukemia,” adding, “Top-line results are scheduled to be announced at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in the United States on the afternoon of the 11th (local time).”

ASH is the largest conference worldwide related to blood diseases. According to the abstract disclosed so far, no toxicity requiring dose limitation has been confirmed, and significant efficacy was observed with complete remission (CR) in four patients.

He stated, “Since this clinical trial also includes patients who showed resistance after treatment with the existing drug Xospata (Astellas), it will be possible to verify whether it can be registered as a new treatment option.”

He also explained, “The Phase 1 clinical trial of PHI-101 is expected to be completed in the first half of next year. Although it is at a relatively early development stage, it has been approved for therapeutic use in Korea and registered as an Orphan Drug Designation in the United States, so conditional marketing approval after Phase 2 clinical trials is also possible.”