U.K.-based biotech company Midatech Pharma PLC said its liver cancer medicine MTD119 received the European Medicines Agency's orphan drug designation.
The drug is being developed as a potential treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare cancer that develops in people with chronic liver diseases.
A recent pre-clinical study comparing the efficacy of MTD119 with the current standard of care — Bayer AG's Nexavar or sorafenib — demonstrated Midatech's drug could work better in the affected patient population.
The EMA's orphan drug designation is meant for medicines that target a rare condition which impacts no more than 5 in 10,000 people in the EU. It is meant to expedite development of a drug by offering incentives and protection from competition once the medicine is commercialized.
