QBiotics reports promising data in rare cancer trial

On Rare Cancers Awareness Day (26 June), Australian biotech QBiotics Group unveiled the final efficacy and safety results from stage 1 of its two-part Phase IIA clinical trial for patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) – a rare and often overlooked cancer.

Soft tissue sarcoma typically presents as a painless lump that can develop in any of the body’s soft tissues. Despite its rarity, STS affected approximately 128,000 people worldwide in 2023, with incidence steadily rising at 0.54% annually.

QBiotics’ lead investigational therapy, tigilanol tiglate, showed promising clinical results.

“We are delighted with the outcomes from Stage 1 of our Phase IIa Soft Tissue Sarcoma trial. Tigilanol tiglate met both its primary and secondary endpoints, and delivered patients an impressive 80% objective response rate in injected tumours,” said QBiotics CEO and Managing Director Stephen Doyle.

“Importantly, none of the 14 fully ablated (destroyed) tumours had recurred by the 6-month follow-up period, suggesting tigilanol tiglate may provide long-term patient benefits. Given soft tissue sarcoma is a challenging cancer to treat, achieving this level of clinical activity is highly encouraging.”

Tigilanol tiglate demonstrated good tolerability, with 80% of patients achieving either complete (100%) or significant partial (≥30%) tumour ablation. The complete responders remained recurrence-free at six months, reinforcing the drug’s potential durability in treatment outcomes.

“The clinical activity of tigilanol tiglate, which we observed in multiple types of soft tissue sarcoma, was encouraging,” said Dr Edmund Bartlett, Principal Trial Investigator from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre. “I look forward to expanding our experience with this treatment and determining how to integrate it into the care of patients with soft tissue sarcoma.”

Encouraged by the trial findings and early investigator insights suggesting tigilanol tiglate could enhance responses to systemic therapies in metastatic STS, QBiotics is moving ahead with the study’s expansion arm, announced late last year.

Christine Cockburn, CEO of Rare Cancers Australia, welcomed the news, saying “These results offer real hope to people living with soft tissue sarcoma and other rare cancers, who too often face limited treatment options and poor outcomes,” she said.

“Innovations like tigilanol tiglate show what’s possible when research targets the unmet needs of rare cancer patients. We welcome the continued investment in this promising trial, and look forward to seeing its potential realised in clinical practice.”

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.