Date posted 22 September 2020
Release date 18 September 2020
Australian clinical-stage drug development company Noxopharm Limited (ASX:NOX) is pleased to announce that it has appointed US corporate advisory and consulting firm, Destum Partners, to advise on its immuno-oncology drug business.
Destum in the first instance will advise specifically on the Company’s DARRT program and the opportunity it offers as a treatment for end-stage prostate cancer, leading onto transaction advice on strategic partnerships, licensing and merger and acquisition deals.
Immuno-oncology (I-O) therapy is the emerging force in oncology, offering the opportunity for dramatic anti-cancer responses. However, current I-O therapies including CAR-T therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors are expensive (with the average I-O cost in the U.S. estimated at 4 times the average U.S. household income1) and their benefit is limited to a relatively small number of cancer types (eg. melanoma, lung cancer, bladder cancer2).
Noxopharm believes that its DARRT treatment regimen comprising a combination of Veyonda® and low- dose radiotherapy offers a considerably more cost-effective, more accessible and better tolerated I-O treatment across more cancer types.
Noxopharm CEO, Dr Graham Kelly, said: “The I-O therapy market currently generates sales of about US$30 billion p.a., and that is regarded as just the tip of the iceberg given the current limited response rates. Every major pharma company is looking for a way to become involved in this rapidly expanding market. We believe that Veyonda® and the DARRT regimen have enormous potential value. The appointment of Destum is intended to help ensure that we maximise that value.”
Destum Partners is a boutique advisory and consulting firm focused on creating value for biopharma companies through transformative deals, and empowering decision making through unparalleled insight. Its Advisory Practice has completed over US$3 billion in deals, with a variety of deal structures, and across a range of therapeutic areas and geographies. Its consulting practice has completed over 200 successful engagements, including many specifically in oncology.
