(Alliance News) - Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Monday said a study showed more patients responding to treatment in a new readout of the Bexmab study focused on myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS.

Faron shares surged 29% to 180.00 pence each late Monday morning in London.

The Turku, Finland-based drug discovery and development company provided further data from patients treated during the phase one part of the ongoing Bexmab trial that has moved into phase two for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome patients failed on previous hypomethylating agent.

The company highlighted that 4/5 of the initial phase 1 higher-risk hypomethylating agent-failed MDS patients were still alive after eight months of follow-up.

Chief Executive Markku Jalkanen says: "These data are really remarkable and confirm our belief that we may finally have a treatment for this underserved patient population. The data are strongly supportive that a registrational trial would be positive against any contemporary comparator when the final endpoint is survival. We eagerly await completion of the phase 2 part of the Bexmab study so we can take these data to the FDA as soon as possible."

Mika Kontro, associate professor at the Helsinki University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator of the Bexmab trial, said: "We are continuing to see encouraging data from the Bexmab trial with usually unresponsive patients going into remission after treatment with bexmarilimab and azacitidine. Whilst we don't have median overall survival rates yet, it is encouraging to see that some patients are alive and, importantly, enjoying a good quality of life even up to 12-plus months after treatment initiation. I continue to be very excited about the potential of bexmarilimab to considerably improve outcomes for patients suffering from these aggressive conditions."

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor

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