Can-Fite delays topline data from late-stage psoriasis trial for lead asset

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• Can-Fite BioPharma (NYSE:CANF), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is trading ~8% lower in the pre-market Tuesday after announcing a delay for a key data readout for the company’s lead candidate Piclidenoson from a late-stage trial in psoriasis.
• Piclidenoson, an oral inhibitor of cytokines, interleukin-17 and interleukin-23, was undergoing the Phase III Comfort trial in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The trial involved over 400 patients across Europe, Israel, and Canada.
• However, due to the unexpected delays in the collection of data, the company now expects topline data from the study in Q2 2022.

• The secondary endpoints of the trial included an assessment of Piclidenoson to measure its non-inferiority to Amgen’s (NASDAQ:AMGN) leading plaque psoriasis therapy, Otezla.

• In a recently issued letter to shareholders, Chief Executive Pnina Fishman projected that topline data from the study could be available in Q1 2022.