Coiled Therapeutics (AIM:COIL) is advancing a next-generation lipid-based softgel formulation of AO-252, its brain-penetrant TACC3 inhibitor, with first patient dosing under the new formulation expected in July.
The clinical-stage oncology company, which focuses on precision medicines for hard-to-treat cancers, said the reformulation is designed to overcome absorption limitations in the current tablet, which it says constrains drug exposure at higher doses and produces inconsistent uptake.
The softgel delivers AO-252 in a pre-dissolved system, a format already used in approved oncology therapies, which the company says provides a well-characterised regulatory pathway.
The move is supported by Phase I data showing an 80% clinical benefit rate in patients receiving twice-daily dosing, compared with 40% for once-daily dosing, across five patients in each arm, with tumour reductions observed in ovarian and endometrial cancer patients.
The formulation switch sets up targeted expansion cohorts in ovarian and prostate cancer, with enrolment of up to 30 patients targeted by the fourth quarter.
"It is a key step in our dose expansion programme in ovarian and prostate cancers and builds on the exposure-response signal we have already observed with AO-252," said chief executive Sridhar Vempati.
Comprehensive expansion cohort data readouts are anticipated in the second half of 2026.
