SR Pharma rocked by cancer drug study

SR Pharma of the UK saw its share price crash 77%to 72.5 pence on April 11, after reporting that its lead product, a drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer, had failed to show any benefit in a Phase III trial. The drug, called SRL172, is an immunotherapeutic agent based on Mycobacterium vaccae, and the trial revealed that the combination of SRL172 and standard chemotherapy for NSCLC provided no survival advantage over chemotherapy alone.

SR said in a statement that it is too early to assess the full impact of the trial result on its cancer program, but noted that it was "extremely disappointed" with the outcome. The firm still has two Phase II trials of SRL172 ongoing in renal carcinoma and small cell lung cancer, and may be encouraged by the finding that the Phase III trial showed a trend towards a benefit for the combination, albeit only during a 15-week treatment phase.

The company finished 2000 with L11 million ($15.8 million) in cash, which it says will fund operations "for the foreseeable future" (Marketletter April 9). A new formulation of M vaccae, called SRP299, will shortly enter Phase II trials in asthma, while AVAC for allergic disorders, also based on SR's M vaccae technology, is currently in Phase I.