4d Pharma buoyed by Texas cancer treatment partnership

4d Pharma’s shares enjoyed a boost on Monday after entering a collaboration with a specialist cancer unit at the University of Texas.

The collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Centre will initially assess 4D's lead oncology candidate, MRx0518, as a potential treatment for solid tumours with the translational medicine and clinical research capabilities of the centre.

The first clinical study, an open label phase I study of the candidate in combination with Keytruda has been initiated and is due to open shortly with 132 patients with metastatic cancer across multiple histologies.

Duncan Peyton, 4D's chief executive, said: "This alliance will provide a strong and long-term foundation for the development of 4D's live biotherapeutics in cancer. The current study, which will be one of the first Live Biotherapeutic programmes to reach the clinic in the immuno-oncology space, represents an important step forward in the development of MRx0518."

Live biotherapeutics employ strains of gut bacteria that have been isolated from healthy human donors, and which are encapsulated, administered orally and delivered to the gut as a therapeutic after a strain is specifically selected for its functionality in combatting a disease.

Shubham Pant, associate professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson, said: "The gut microbiome has emerged as an important next-generation target in cancer therapy and we hope that live biotherapeutics will have the potential to make a significant difference for patients across a range of cancers."

4d Pharma’s shares were up 14.54% at 123.42p at 1119 GMT.