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- Imagion Biosystems (IBX) reported positive findings for its phase one HER2 breast cancer study over the December 2022 quarter
- The healthcare stock presented data last quarter showing its MagSense cancer detection technology is safe and can improve the standard of care for patients
- CEO Bob Proulx says this is “truly groundbreaking work”, and plans are underway for the next phase of development and studies
- Imagion expects its costs to remain consistent for the first half of 2023 but will likely increase in the second half as the MagSense program advances
- IBX shares are up 4.76 per cent to trade at 2.2 cents at 1:32 pm AEDT
Imagion Biosystems’ (IBX) shares have risen following the release of the company’s quarterly update for the three months to December 31, 2022.
The healthcare stock continued to progress activities around its MagSense cancer detection technology, which uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect cancer cells in the body. The tech is also capable of accurately assessing the size and nature of tumours.
Imagion has been undertaking a phase one HER2 breast cancer study to investigate the potential for its MagSense imaging agent to detect if tumour cells have metastasized to the lymph nodes.
In December, the company reported that its MagSense technology could indeed improve the standard of care for cancer patients.
Specifically, Imagion Biosystems presented data for the first cohort of patients in the phase one study and said the molecule signature of the MagSense imaging agent — when combined with conventional MRE — could help distinguish potentially cancerous nodes from normal nodes.
CEO and President Bob Proulx said he was “very pleased” with the initial clinical data.
“This is truly ground-breaking work and marks the first time that molecularly targeted magnetic nanoparticle technology has been shown to non-invasively detect cancer cells in human patients,” Mr Proulx said.
The company is planning for the next phase of development, which may include studies in the US.
The phase one study will be open for enrolment to gather more data for evaluation and to support the planning of future studies.
At the end of December, Imagion had $4.4 million in cash after reporting a quarterly operating cash outflow of $454,000, alongside $307,000 in spending on financing activities.
The company said it expected costs to remain consistent for the first half of 2023 but increase in the second half as the MagSense HER2 breast cancer program advanced.
IBX shares were up 4.76 per cent to trade at 2.2 cents at 1:32 pm AEDT.
