Allschwil, Switzerland, September 24, 2024
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, announced today that it has initiated the Fosmanogepix Against Standard-of-care Treatment in Invasive Candidiasis (FAST-IC) phase 3 study. This registrational study evaluates the efficacy and safety of Basilea’s broad-spectrum antifungal fosmanogepix in the treatment of adult patients with candidemia and/or invasive candidiasis, that is Candida yeast bloodstream or deep-seated tissue infections.1
Fosmanogepix is a first-in-class antifungal treatment candidate with a novel mechanism of action. It is available in intravenous and oral formulations and has been evaluated for efficacy and safety in a phase 1 / phase 2 program, including three open-label phase 2 studies for the treatment of Candidemia, including Candida auris, and invasive mold infections.2, 3, 4, 5
Dr. Marc Engelhardt, Chief Medical Officer of Basilea, said: “We are very pleased to have activated the first study center in the phase 3 program for fosmanogepix and look forward to enrolling patients into FAST-IC. Invasive Candida infections are life-threatening complications for many hospitalized patients and associated with high mortality, and fosmanogepix offers a potential new treatment option in this high medical need area. In addition, we are working towards starting the second phase 3 study investigating fosmanogepix in the treatment of adult patients with invasive mold infections around year-end.”
FAST-IC is a global, multi-center, randomized, active-controlled, double-blind phase 3 study and investigates intravenous (i.v.) fosmanogepix versus a standard-of-care regimen of i.v. caspofungin in adult patients with candidemia and/or invasive candidiasis. The study is expected to enroll approximately 450 patients, who will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio to either fosmanogepix or caspofungin. There is an optional oral switch to fosmanogepix in the fosmanogepix group and to fluconazole in the caspofungin group. The Swiss-based global company PSI CRO AG will manage the phase 3 program.
Basilea acquired fosmanogepix from Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an affiliate of Pfizer Inc., in November 2023. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Basilea assumed all rights and obligations from previous agreements, and will make a USD 6.0 million milestone payment under these obligations, upon the enrolment of the first patient, which is fully reflected in Basilea’s most recent financial guidance for the full year 2024.
This project has been funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration of Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under OT number: 75A50124C00033. The contract and federal funding are not an endorsement of the study results, product, or company.
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