PETACH TIKVA, Israel, Sept. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF) (CFBI.TA), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address cancer and inflammatory diseases, today announced that an article titled, “New Drugs and Treatment Targets in Psoriasis,” published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Acta Derm Venereologica, cites the Company’s CF101 as a potential treatment for psoriasis. The article was written by researchers at the Department of Dermato-allergology, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. To read the article in full, please visit: Acta Derm Venereologica.
The article states that biologics for the treatment of psoriasis are costly, require repeated injections, and some patients experience a loss of therapeutic effect. Thus, the development of orally available, small molecule drugs are desirable, state the article’s authors. They identify A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonists as one of four potential small molecules currently in clinical trials.
The article includes a summary of Can-Fite’s Phase II psoriasis trial and includes CF101 among four small molecule drugs under development including Pfizer’s Tofacitinib, Celgene’s Apremilast, and Incyte’s Ruxolitinib.
“There is a need for small molecule orally bioavailable drugs for the treatment of psoriasis which is a chronic disease. We believe the good safety and efficacy profile that has been described in the Phase II and Phase II/III interim analysis, positions CF101 as a leading drug under development for this disease,” stated Dr. Pnina Fishman, CEO of Can-Fite.
Can-Fite’s Phase II/III psoriasis trial is ongoing with top line results expected to be released in the first quarter of 2015. The psoriasis therapeutic market was worth $3.6 billion in 2010 and is forecast to grow to $6.7 billion by 2018, according to Global Data.
