ASX-listed biotech Clinuvel is planning to expand beyond rare diseases to prevent one of the most common cancers, tapping into a multibillion-dollar market.
Clinuvel has completed a successful trial on its drug afamelanotide, with the study showing it reduced damage from UV radiation in people with fair skin.
UV radiation damage is a leading factor in skin cancer – which costs $US8.1bn ($11.3bn) to treat each year in the US alone – and photoaging, premature skin ageing from prolonged and repeated exposure to solar radiation. The study showed that afamelanotide could significantly reduce artificially provoked sunburn damage after six days, indicating its potential use in preventing skin cancer development.
The trial, completed in the UK, comes after Clinuvel
successfully completed a phase two study aimed at protecting patients with xeroderma pigmentosum – a rare genetic disorder that put those with the condition at greater risk of developing aggressive skin cancers.
Wilsons analyst Melissa Benson said the positive results from the latest trial were “not earth shattering or unexpected” but “continues to speak to the potential for broader applications” of afamelanotide than treating rare disease.
“Melanoma represents a common cancer type, with a high mortality rate, despite treatment advances,” Dr Benson said
“Novel therapies to reduce melanoma incidence presents a material opportunity, down the line.
“(About) 100,000 new melanoma cases are diagnosed in the US each year, with 8000 deaths owing to melanoma. Australia carries one of the highest burdens of melanoma globally.”
Local biotech companies are
back on the world stage, with the biggest Australian delegation since the Covid-19 pandemic descending on JP Morgan’s major health conference in San Francisco last month – setting up for a year of deal making.
Clinuvel shares advanced 1.8 per cent to $24.56 in afternoon trade on Thursday, giving the company a market value of $1.2bn.