Photocure Partner Asieris Announces Completion of Patient Enrollment in Cevira Phase III Clinical Trial
On August 9, 2022, Asieris Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of innovative drugs for the treatment of genitourinary tumors and other major diseases, announced that the multinational Phase III Clinical Trial of APL-1702 (Cevira®), a novel non-surgical treatment of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), has successfully enrolled 402 patients in the study two months ahead of schedule. Additionally, Photocure received a $1 million milestone payment from Asieris related to the ongoing clinical development of Cevira.
APRICITY is a multicenter, prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled Phase III study further evaluating the efficacy and safety of the integrated drug-and light-delivery device Cevira® in the treatment of HSIL. The clinical trial was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in July 2020 and was conducted simultaneously at 65 sites in 8 countries including China, Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands. The first patient was dosed in November 2020.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide1. In 2020, 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths worldwide were attributed to cervical cancer.1,2 Current treatments of HSIL of the cervix are based on invasive surgical interventions, compromising cervical competence and functionality. Currently, no non-surgical approach is available for the treatment of precancerous cervical lesions.
Read Asieris’ full press release here: https://asieris.com/asieris-multinational-phase-iii-clinical-trial-for-the-non-surgical-treatment-of-hsil-has-completed-enrollment/
1. Cervical cancer. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/cervical-cancer
2. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(3):209-49
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About Cevira®:
Cevira is a breakthrough photodynamic drug-device combination product that is being developed for non-surgical treatment of high-grade precancerous lesions of the cervix. Cevira holds the potential to serve the high unmet medical need for non-invasive treatment options for patients with HSIL in an outpatient setting, especially for young women of reproductive age. Asieris Pharmaceuticals entered into a license agreement with Photocure ASA (Photocure, PHO: OSE) to obtain the worldwide development and commercialization of Cevira in July 2019. Cevira® is a registered trademark of Photocure ASA, based in Oslo, Norway.
About Photocure ASA
Photocure: The Bladder Cancer Company delivers transformative solutions to improve the lives of bladder cancer patients. Our unique technology, making cancer cells glow bright pink, has led to better health outcomes for patients worldwide. Photocure is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: PHO). For more information, please visit us at www.photocure.com, www.hexvix.com, www.cysview.com