Jon Stojan
The field of oncology has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several decades, with various treatments improving the survival and quality of life of many patients. However, one persistent problem is the emergence of treatment-resistant cancers, which happens when cancer cells undergo molecular changes that make them unresponsive to the drugs before or during treatment. This leads to tumors reforming and continuing to grow, ultimately leading to the death of the patient.
As a result, medical science is in a continuous arms race against cancer, with scientists always working on developing new treatments that are effective against cancers that have developed resistance to previous treatments. Independent pharmaceutical companies have made significant contributions in this field, focusing on areas that may have been overlooked and are not receiving mainstream attention.
One such company is Faron Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Turku, Finland. The company is developing bexmarilimab (bex), a humanized monoclonal antibody molecule that shows potential in treating both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Bex is in its Phase I/II clinical trial, with funding secured to complete Phase II and plans to move to Phase III and the FDA’s accelerated approval process.
Faron is a family-based company, established in 2007 by Drs. Markku and Sirpa Jalkanen. A professor of immunology, Dr. Sirpa discovered the Bex molecule, while Dr. Markku was the first CEO of the company. Both are postdoctoral graduates of Stanford University who then moved back to Finland to start multiple biotechnology businesses. Their son, Dr. Juho Jalkanen, MD, PhD, is the current CEO, having been appointed this year, while their daughter, Dr. Maija Hollmén, PhD, is the company’s Chief Scientific Officer.
According to Dr. Juho, the cancer drug industry is in dire need of further innovation, especially in the field of combating treatment resistance to prevent more fatalities. He adds that a key source of resistance is macrophages, which are present in up to 50% of treatment-resistant tumors. A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that is supposed to engulf and kill pathogens, remove dead cells, and stimulate the action of other immune system cells. However, the presence of Clever-1, an immunosuppressive scavenger receptor, on macrophages prevents them from presenting the cancer cells they capture to the immune system. This results in the cancer cells going undetected by the immune system, giving the tumor more chances to grow and metastasize to other areas of the body.
Bex works by binding to Clever-1, allowing the macrophage to present the tumor cells to the immune system – a process known as macrophage reprogramming. Once the immune system has identified the tumor as a foreign body, its T-cells can then attack it and kill off the cancer cells.
“The next big breakthrough in cancer treatment lies in knowing which type of cells to target, and we believe it’s the macrophage,” Dr. Juho says. “But, due to past negative experiences, the industry is quite hesitant to embrace macrophage-centric treatments.”
Dr. Juho explains that there were previous drugs that also relied on the mechanism of macrophage reprogramming. These drugs target the signaling molecule CD47, which tells macrophages not to ‘eat’ a cell. However, CD47 is present in both cancerous and healthy cells, causing the immune system to indiscriminately attack cells, resulting in a toxic effect on the human body.
“It’s unfortunate that, because of past failures, macrophage-based treatments are now being disregarded, despite these cells’ natural functions holding great potential in combating cancer,” Dr. Juho says. “Despite having a commonality with some ineffective treatments, bex works differently, with trials showing a good safety profile and high tolerance by patients.”
Faron Pharmaceuticals plans to continue innovating in this field, working towards bringing bex to the wider market by attracting major partners in the pharmaceutical industry to scale up funding and production. Having assumed the chief executive role this year, Dr. Juho seeks to lead Faron to the next stage of its growth.
“At first, I didn’t want to join this field, so I chose to study business,” he says. “But, I found out it wasn’t for me, and that medicine was my calling, so I became a vascular surgeon to help people. Then, some years later, my father asked me to join the company. Today, I believe that joining Faron was my destiny, as in my practice, I can help one patient at a time. But, if bex successfully completes the clinical trial process, it will be able to help millions of people.”