Evgen Pharma PLC on Monday said its collaborator at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam has received notice of a grant from KWF Dutch Cancer Society.

The Cheshire, England-based clinical stage drug development company said the grant has been awarded for investigator sponsored pre-clinical and clinical studies of SFX-01 in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour. The firm’s SFX-01 treatment has undergone clinical trials for oestrogen-positive metastatic breast cancer.

The firm said the studies funded by the grant will see a trial of SFX-01 in pre-clinical glioblastoma models and a clinical investigator-sponsored window of opportunity study in patients with the tumour.

The trials will be conducted in Rotterdam, at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute.

Cheif Executive Huw Jones said: ‘We announced earlier this year that our glioblastoma programme would be conducted as an ISS with non-dilutive funding. This award means that we remain on schedule to deliver this study in close collaboration with Dr Geurts.’

‘The non-dilutive funding enables us to continue to preserve our capital and maintain our cash runway to the end of 2024 whilst continuing to generate valuable data on SFX-01. If the ISS and subsequent clinical trials succeed, SFX-01 will represent a novel and well tolerated option for patients with this devastating disease.’

Evgen shares rose 9.0% to 3.38 pence each in London on Monday morning.

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