Bioline Rx (NASDAQ:BLRX)
One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I tend to find opportunities in the market early on. This one, BioLineRx was brought to my attention by a friend at an IR firm. After a quick conversation, I decided that it was time to start doing some digging. In the digging, the opportunity went from something that might possibly be interesting to something that is very interesting. Today, we’ll talk a bit about who BLRX is and why I find them to be an incredibly interesting investment opportunity.
Who Is BLRX
BioLineRx is a biopharmaceutical company that’s currently in the clinical stages. The company’s efforts are centered around identifying, in-licensing and developing therapeutic candidates. At the moment, much of their work is centered around a treatment that is currently known as BL-8040, a treatment that is being developed in combination with another for cancer.
Why BioLineRx Presents An Interesting Opportunity
Ultimately, as mentioned above, much of the company’s work is centered around the development of a promising therapeutic candidate known as BL-8040. The treatment is being investigated in combination with KEYTRUDA(R) (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 therapy, as a potential solution for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. However, it’s one thing to say they’re working on it, and another to show progress, and progress is exactly what BLRX is showing at the moment.
In fact, on January 17th, the company released a PR, informing investors that progress is going well. In the release, it was announced that the company has initiated a second Phase 2a trial into the treatment. The trial is an open-label single center, single-arm study that’s focused on the mechanism-of-action by which both drugs involved in the trial may synergize. The trial will also be focused on evaluating the biological anti-tumor effects induced by the combination treatment. The trial will take place at the Univercity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center following the collaboration agreement the company signed with the center back in August of 2016.
In a statement, BLRX CEO, Philip Serlin had the following to offer with regard to the initiation of the trial…
“This is the second Phase 2 immuno-oncology trial taking place to investigate the combination of BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In September 2016, we announced the initiation of the COMBAT study, our first Phase 2a study for evaluating the clinical efficacy of BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA, also for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. The COMBAT study, which is being conducted by BioLineRx under a collaboration agreement between BioLineRx and MSD is also currently recruiting patients. We believe that the trial announced today will support the COMBAT study and deepen our understanding of the mechanism-of-action of the combination treatment.
We also believe that the combination of BL-8040 with KEYTRUDA has the potential to expand the benefit of immunotherapy to non-respondent patients and cancer types currently resistant to immuno-oncology treatments, such as pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, BL-8040’s inhibition of CXCR4, which may affect the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment, is potentially synergistic with immune checkpoint inhibitors in additional oncology indications…”
At the end of the day, the company is doing incredible work in the treatment of one of the most aggressive, and most deadly cancers known to man. If their work is a success, not only will their treatment work for pancreatic cancer, it will open the door to further studies and the possible ability to expand the treatment into other indications. Not only would this open the door, the CEO clearly already has these types of possibilities on his mind! All in all, it seems as though the company is on the right track!