Photocure’s Cevira shows positive interim results for treatment of precancerous lesions of the cervix
Six-month interim data presented at international conference addressing prevention of cervical cancer
Photocure presented positive interim data at the six-month follow up stage of its phase I/II clinical feasibility study with Cevira™ at the EUROGIN 2008 international conference. Cevira™ is Photocure’s photodynamic therapy (PDT) in development as a new treatment of precancerous lesions of the cervix (CIN) induced by persistent human papilloma virus (HPV) infection.
The six-month clinical data from 35 patients in Norway showed that 73% patients with moderate grade lesions (CIN2) were treated successfully as determined by complete regression of lesions confirmed through a normal biopsy (histology) and cell sampling (cytology). 38% of patients with more severe (CIN3) lesions also responded positively to Cevira treatment.
A complete response of the lesions correlated with the eradication of HPV in 87% of the responding patients. Importantly, the treatment was well tolerated with cervical tissue preserved and completely normalized after PDT treatment.
Cevira PDT is being studied in women with cervical precancerous lesions who are eligible for surgery to remove the affected tissues, the current standard of care. The ongoing study involves 92 patients at two clinical centers in Germany and Norway, all of whom will be followed for 12 months after treatment.
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