Evgen Pharma plc

("Evgen" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Evgen receives notification of grant success in the Netherlands
for Glioblastoma Pre-clinical and Clinical Studies

Grant provides non-dilutive funding for SFX-01 in glioblastoma

19 June 2023 - Evgen Pharma plc (AIM: EVG), the clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane-based medicines for the treatment of multiple diseases, announces that the Company's collaborator at The Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, NL has received a successful notice of a grant for Investigator Sponsored pre-clinical and clinical studies of SFX-01 in glioblastoma. The grant was awarded by KWF Dutch Cancer Society.

The studies funded by the grant will cover use of SFX-01 in pre-clinical glioblastoma models, followed by a clinical Investigator Sponsored Study (ISS) window-of-opportunity study in glioblastoma patients, to establish presence of the drug in human brain tumours and engagement with relevant molecular targets in excised tumour tissue. The work will be conducted by, in the laboratory and clinic of, Dr Marjolein Geurts, neurologist at Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Dr Huw Jones, CEO of Evgen Pharma said:

"We announced earlier this year that our glioblastoma programme would be conducted as an ISS with non-dilutive funding. This award means that we remain on schedule to deliver this study in close collaboration with Dr Geurts. Congratulations to her and the Evgen team who compiled the grant application. The non-dilutive funding enables us to continue to preserve our capital and maintain our cash runway to the end of 2024 whilst continuing to generate valuable data on SFX-01. If the ISS and subsequent clinical trials succeed, SFX-01 will represent a novel and well tolerated option for patients with this devastating disease."

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About Evgen Pharma plc

Evgen Pharma is a clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane based medicines for the treatment of multiple diseases. The Company's core technology is Sulforadex®, a method for synthesising and stabilising the highly biologically active compound sulforaphane and novel proprietary analogues based on sulforaphane. 

The Company's lead asset, SFX-01, is a patented composition of synthetic sulforaphane and alpha-cyclodextrin and has undergone clinical trials for oestrogen-positive (ER+) metastatic breast cancer and recently a Phase 1b study of the Company's new enteric coated tablet formulation. The FDA has granted Orphan Drug status to SFX-01 in malignant glioma. SFX-01 will be investigated initially in this indication as an investigator sponsored study in the Netherlands.

The Company also has a wide number of collaborations with leading academic centres in the UK, Europe and the US as part of the continuing strategy to build the scientific data for the compound. With respect to areas outside of oncology and inflammation, Evgen signed an out-licensing deal with JuvLife, the dietary products and functional foods division of Juvenescence Ltd, for the development of a naturally-sourced sulforaphane nutritional health supplement, stabilised using Evgen's Sulforadex® technology. More recently Evgen completed an out-licensing transaction with Stalicla SA, a Swiss specialist company in neurodevelopmental disorders, commencing with autism spectrum disorder. The deal, if successful, will generate milestone payments of $160.5m and a double-digit royalty on sales.

The Company has its headquarters and registered office at Alderley Park, Cheshire. It is listed on AIM in London and trades under the ticker symbol EVG. 

For further information, please visit: www.evgen.com