Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:
DFFN) (“Diffusion” or the “Company”), an innovative
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies that enhance
the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to areas where it is needed
most, today announced final results from the Phase 1b study
evaluating trans sodium crocetinate (TSC) in hospitalized COVID-19
patients. Data from the open-label study were reviewed
by an independent Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC).
Topline results based upon analyses of primary
endpoint data from the trial were announced in February 2021,
indicating that TSC was safe and well-tolerated when administered
on a more frequent dosing regimen than previously tested in a
clinical trial setting.
The Company and the SMC have concluded analyses of
the trial’s planned secondary and exploratory endpoints, which
included time to improvement in WHO ordinal scale by day 7 and
through day 29, time on oxygen supplementation, and hospital length
of stay. While this study was not designed or powered to evaluate
efficacy, the Company and SMC observed that patients receiving the
1.5 mg/kg dose had improved outcomes in these secondary and
exploratory endpoints compared to those receiving lower doses. In
addition, no patients required dialysis or developed acute kidney
injury and there were no reports of pulmonary embolism or deep vein
thrombosis. One death was reported during the study, a patient who
received the lowest dose and which was determined by the SMC to be
not drug related.
The SMC went on to recommend the Company consider
additional preliminary work before initiating a registrational
study, including the testing of higher TSC doses and a continuous
intravenous infusion. Of note, the first of the
Company’s three planned Oxygenation Trials, the TCOM study, tested
TSC at doses up to 2.5 mg/kg.
“We learned a lot from this safety and tolerability
trial, not only is TSC safe with more frequent dosing, but across a
wider range of doses than previously tested. We are encouraged by
the trends in the data suggesting TSC improved relevant clinical
outcomes, recognizing the conclusions we can draw are limited due
to the study not being designed or powered to evaluate efficacy”
said Chris Galloway, M.D., Chief Medical Officer. “We believe the
observations and recommendations of the SMC further support the
importance of our three, small, controlled Oxygenation Trials as
efficient means to demonstrate TSC’s enhancement of oxygenation
with more clarified dosing and, if successful, allowing us to
design later phase trials to support commercially-focused
development in specific indication(s).”
Trial Design
- The trial enrolled 24 patients divided
into four sequential cohorts of six patients, with each patient in
a dose cohort receiving the same intravenous doses of 0.25 mg/kg,
0.5 mg/kg, 1.0 mg/kg, or 1.5 mg/kg, depending on the patient’s
cohort.
- All patients were administered
intravenous doses of TSC every six hours for a minimum of five days
and up to 15 days.
“This study of TSC in COVID-19 patients was
initiated to determine if TSC is safe and well tolerated when given
in multiple doses per day in a patient population suffering from an
acute respiratory infection. The medical and scientific communities
have since come to understand COVID-19 is a much more complex
disease, and the study itself was complicated to conduct. So, we
are very happy the trial achieved its primary objective,
demonstrating safety and tolerability, and the results of the
secondary endpoint analyses confirm our belief in the value of
executing our ongoing Oxygenation Trials,” said Robert Cobuzzi,
Jr., Ph.D., President and CEO of Diffusion.
Near-Term Clinical Strategy
Diffusion has initiated a series of three
short-term Oxygenation Trials in the United States in 2021, funded
with cash-on-hand. The first of these studies, the TCOM Trial,
initiated, enrolled, and completed dosing in March 2021.
- TCOM Trial: This
trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled,
pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of TSC that enrolled and
dosed 30 healthy volunteers. Trial participants were randomized
into one of six subgroups, each of which received a single
intravenous dose of placebo or one of five different doses of TSC
ranging from 0.5 mg/kg to 2.5 mg/kg. All trial participants
received supplemental oxygen during equivalent monitoring periods
before and after TSC or placebo was administered while being
continuously monitored with TCOM sensors applied to the lower
extremity. The primary endpoint evaluates the relative change in
TCOM readings from baseline after TSC administration. Diffusion
anticipates that the ongoing collection and analyses of the TCOM
trial data will be completed and announced by the end of the second
quarter of 2021.
- Induced Hypoxia
Trial: This trial will be a double-blind, randomized,
placebo-controlled study which will evaluate the effects of TSC on
maximal oxygen consumption, or VO2, and partial pressure of blood
oxygen, or PaO2, in normal healthy volunteers subjected to
incremental levels of physical exertion while exposed to hypoxic
and hypobaric conditions (i.e., simulated altitude). The study will
be statistically powered to evaluate the difference in effect of
TSC versus placebo on oxygen availability and consumption.
- DLCO Trial: This trial will be a
double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study which will
evaluate the effects of TSC on the diffusion of carbon monoxide
through the lungs (DLCO) in patients with previously diagnosed
interstitial lung disease who have a baseline DLCO test result that
is abnormal. DLCO will act as a surrogate measure of oxygen
transfer efficiency, or uptake, from the alveoli of the lungs,
through the plasma, and onto hemoglobin within red blood cells. The
study will be statistically powered to evaluate the difference in
effect of TSC versus placebo on improvement in DLCO.
Diffusion anticipates initiating and completing the DLCO Trial
and Induced Hypoxia Trial in the second half of 2021, with topline
results from each study available within two months of their
respective completion. The Company believes positive data from any
one or more of the three Oxygenation Trials, if obtained, would
provide evidence of a definitive effect of TSC on oxygenation. If
such positive data are obtained, the Company expects to announce in
the fourth quarter of 2021 the hypoxia-related indications in which
TSC would be studied as part of its clinical development strategy
aimed at supporting regulatory approval and commercialization.
Diffusion intends to initiate clinical studies in the identified
indications during the first quarter of 2022.
About Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an innovative
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies that enhance
the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to areas where it is needed
most. Diffusion’s lead product candidate, TSC, is being developed
to enhance the diffusion of oxygen to tissues with low oxygen
levels, also known as hypoxia, a serious complication of many of
medicine’s most intractable and difficult-to-treat conditions. In
addition to TSC, Diffusion’s product candidate DFN-529, a novel,
allosteric PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway inhibitor, is in early-stage
development. For more information, please visit us at
www.diffusionpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes express and implied
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including
regarding the Company’s near-term strategic priorities, anticipated
timelines for the initiation, completion, and announcement of data
from the Company’s ongoing and planned oxygenation trials, and the
potential therapeutic value of TSC. The Company may, in some cases,
use terms such as “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,”
“should,” “approximately,” or other words that convey uncertainty
of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes that it has a reasonable
basis for each forward-looking statement contained herein,
forward-looking statements by their nature involve risks and
uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond the
Company’s control, and as a result the Company’s actual results
could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any
forward-looking statement. Particular risk and uncertainties
include, among other things, those related to: the Company’s
ability to design, initiate, enroll, execute, and complete its
ongoing and planned studies evaluating TSC; general economic,
political, business, industry, and market conditions, including the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; and the other factors discussed under
the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s filings most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements
in this press release speak only as of the date hereof (or such
earlier date as may be identified) and, except as required by
applicable law, rule, or regulation, the Company undertakes no
obligation to update any such statements after the date hereof.
ContactsInvestors: Tiberend
Strategic Advisors, Inc. Maureen McEnroe, CFA / Miriam Weber
Miller (212) 375-2664 / (212)
375-2694 mmcenroe@tiberend.com / mmiller@tiberend.com
Media: Kate
BarretteRooneyPartners (212)
223-0561Kbarrette@rooneyco.com
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