KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): TauRx Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the 20%-owned associate of Genting Bhd, said new data show that its trial drug to combat Alzheimer's disease has “sustained benefits” across the disease spectrum from early to moderate dementia.

The new 24-month data from the third phase of the so-called LUCIDITY trial of hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) showed “significantly” reduced disease progression in participants, TauRx said in a statement following a presentation at a conference in Portugal.

In the early disease subgroup, there was a “significant reduction” in transition to the dementia stage of Alzheimer's disease, TauRx said. Within the subgroup, progression of symptoms to the dementia stage of the disease was “significantly less” than in the control group.

“The new data show that benefit can be maintained over 24 months and highlight the importance of starting HMTM treatment early in the disease process,” said TauRx chief executive officer Claude Wischik.

The latest results follow earlier clinical trial completed in June 2023 that compared changes over 12 months in cognitive, functional and brain atrophy outcomes at various HMTM doses. Founded in Singapore in 2002, TauRx mainly operates out of the UK.

For Maybank Investment Bank, the trial appears to show that the HMTM is eligible for fast track consideration by regulators such as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which has accelerated approval programme.

Requests for "Fast Track" designation are made by drug companies, and the US FDA will review and decide on the request "based on whether the drug fills an unmet medical need in a serious condition", according to the regulator's website. 

Maybank, which has a “buy” call on Genting, currently values TauRx at US$1 billion with 60% discount, accounting for only nine sen out of its current target price of RM5.73.

Genting’s target price could be raised to as high as RM9.40 under a blue sky scenario, where HMTM is approved and TauRx is valued at US$15 billion (RM70.3 billion) without discount, the research house added.