The last few months have been very eventful for LIDDS; the last patient has been enrolled in their localized treatment of prostate cancer study and they are evaluating a possible listing on Nasdaq Stockholm’s Main Market. The CEO of LIDDS, Monica Wallter, gives us an update.
What’s next for LIDDS and what results can we expect during 2019?
“LIDDS will report the Phase IIb study during Q3 2019. Also, the Phase I study where solid tumors are injected with NanoZolid combined with docetaxel is ongoing and the first patient is treated. We have a preclinical program ongoing with STING agonists and additionally have very interesting other immune-oncology projects in the feasibility stage. Other highlights this year include the hiring of Charlotta Gauffin as Head of Clinical Development, and Markus Thor as Head of Business Development. We have also been invited to present the possibilities with the NanoZolid technology at recent conferences. Associate Professor Niklas Axén, Inventor and Head of Technology and Patents, attended the Pharma R&D Conference in Paris in March, and Stefan Grudén, Director of Pharmaceutical R&D, presented at the Formulation & Drug Delivery Congress in London in April.”
What are your hopes and expectations for the future?
“That LIDDS will be able to out license the clinical projects in prostate cancer and local cytostatic treatment of solid tumors after results are available. Additionally, that new projects will enter into clinical stage in the coming years.”
You are evaluating a possible listing, what are the advantages?
“A listing on Nasdaq Stockholm’s Main Market is a natural next step in the company’s development. Hopefully it will contribute to increased interest from a broader investor base as well as increased visibility, both in Sweden and globally.”
In April, you initiated a novel TLR9 agonist project and announced a plan for a phase I clinical trial. Tell me more?
“The NanoZolid technology addresses key issues in developing TLR agonists, as repeated intratumoral injections are needed using standard formulations. We will be focusing our project on TLR9, one of the most promising targets for increasing response and reversing resistance to immunotherapies. TLR9 agonists have been shown to be most effective when injected directly into a tumor. A preclinical program is ongoing to broaden the results obtained to date and we are now preparing for a Phase I clinical trial using NanoZolid combined with a TLR9 agonist. The first human study is planned to commence in 2020. There is significant commercial potential in this area of research and drug development and the market for TLR agonists is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming years.”
About LIDDS
LIDDS AB develops injectable drugs for cancer and other diseases based on a NanoZolid technology. NanoZolid helps solve some of the main problems with the way drugs work in the body and which affect patient quality of life. NanoZolid enables the controlled, long-term and personalized release of drugs for up to six months. NanoZolid can be combined with traditional small molecules, as well as with larger molecules. In March this year the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a Notice of Allowance for the NanoZolid technology patent. The same patent was approved by the European Patent Office in 2018. With this new US patent, the NanoZolid technology will be protected until 2037 in both Europe and the US.
