Business
Faron Closes HIBISCUS Trial
Faron Closes HIBISCUS Trial.
About this update from Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n \n RNS Number : 2302H\n Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy\n 05 April 2022\n \n \n \n \n Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd.\n \n \n (\"Faron\" or \"Company\")\n \n \n \n \n \n Faron Closes HIBISCUS Trial Due to Low COVID-19 Infection and Hospitalization Rates in the US and Reverts Resources to the Development of Bexmarilimab\n \n \n \n \n \n · \n \n Traumakine will be re-positioned for multiple indications in organ protection together with partnerships\n \n \n \n · \n \n Near term value inflections are expected from the accelerated development of \n \n Bexmarilimab\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Company announcement, \n April 05, 2022 \n \n at 09:00 AM (EET) / 07:00 AM (GMT) / 2:00 AM (EDT) \n \n \n \n Inside information\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n TURKU, FINLAND / BOSTON, MA\n \n \n \n \n - Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd (\n AIM: FARN, First North: FARON\n ), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on building the future of immunotherapy by harnessing the power of the immune system to tackle cancer and inflammation, today announced that, due to low COVID-19 hospitalization rates and a\n shortage of patients not already receiving steroids\n , the Company is closing its \n Phase II/III HIBISCUS trial assessing Traumakine (Intravenous Interferon beta-1a; IFN beta-1a) as a first-line treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients who require low flow oxygen support. The Company's decision was based on a recommendation from the HIBISCUS Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) to discontinue the study due to slow recruitment. The IDMC also informed the Company that there were no safety concerns related to treatment of enrolled patients. \n \n \n \n \n \n \"When the HIBISCUS trial was designed and initiated, infection and hospitalization rates were high across the U.S.,\" said Dr. Markku Jalkanen, Chief Executive Officer of Faron. \"The emergence of the less severe Omicron variant and widespread vaccinations led to a significant decrease in the number of hospitalized patients requiring low flow oxygen support. While this was good news from a pandemic perspective, it, along with the widespread early use of steroids, severely limited our potential patient pool. As a result and based on a recommendation from the independent data monitoring committee, we made the decision to end pati...