Alchemia cites Eastern European treatment differences over failed anti-cancer drug trial

ALCHEMIA has pointed finger at another culprit for test failure of its ambitious anti-cancer treatment: Eastern European trial sites.

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ALCHEMIA has pointed the finger at another culprit for the test failure of its ambitious anti-cancer treatment: Eastern European trial sites.

The drug trial fizzled badly last year, gutting the share price of the Brisbane-based biotechnology outfit from 62c to 10.5c.

In an annual report out on Wednesday, Alchemia said an analysis pointed to Eastern European patients typically not earlier receiving “the quantity or type” of therapy done in the West. That helped fuel an unanticipated results deviation during the actual trial, Alchemia said.

Alchemia also said another factor affecting the result was patients had received different amounts of previous treatments, varying by geography.

While Alchemia is no longer trialling the drug, it said several positive factors led it to believe the treatment offered “superior clinical outcomes”.

It adds to the mystery of problems unearthed in the trial, with Alchemia in January revealing that Russian patients — who made up 40 per cent of the trial — also had anomalous results.

Test centres in Russia and Eastern Europe are often cheaper or patients can be easier to find, but some industry figures have questioned the reliability of results there. Alchemia had also maintained the trial was subject to “stringent monitoring and quality control”.

Alchemia, a former Smart State hopeful, finished the year with cash of $5.1 million, accumulated losses of $146 million and plans to sell off assets.

It last month announced the sale of its successfully developed anti-clotting drug to marketing partner Dr Reddy’s for $US17.5 million ($A24.4 million), having already reaped $23 million from earlier drug sales.

That sale actually lifted Alchemia shares from 3.5c to 7.5c, making it among the top performers in a quarterly index compiled by industry analysts Bioshares. Bioshares estimated Alchemia could have almost $35 million by year’s end.

Other asset sales have been mixed — one plan to sell its anti-cancer arm to Panther Biotechnology fell over after Panther failed to meet two material conditions.

The accounts showed directors earned $528,399, and former chief executive officer Tom Liquard, who left the role after 10 months, received a special payout of $175,000.

Drugs are notoriously tough to get to market. A BIO-BioMedTracker survey in 2011 found only 9 per cent of drugs moved successfully from first-round clinical trials to US regulatory approval.