Melbourne, Australia; Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today released its Appendix 4C – Quarterly Cashflow report for the period ended 31 March 2014.

The cash balance at 31 March 2014 was $27.8 million. This strong cash position was assisted by the receipt of $4.7 million of R&D tax incentive relating to FY13 expenditures.

The March quarter saw a high level of activity for the Company. The DEP^TM docetaxel Phase 1 trial commenced in January, with the first patient cohort now enrolled and commenced treatment.  Multiple clinical trial preparations have also occurred for the Phase 3 VivaGel^® bacterial vaginosis (BV) prevention program during the quarter. Expenditure for the quarter included the manufacture of clinical trial product for both the DEP^TM docetaxel and VivaGel^® clinical trials.

Preparation for Phase 3 clinical trials for VivaGel^® to prevent recurrent BV are now well advanced. During the period, activities undertaken in preparation for the commencement of this multi-site trial program include site selection, briefing of clinical investigators, site preparation, ethics submissions, and clinical product manufacturing. The company expects to commence the trials shortly.

Starpharma has made significant advances related to its VivaGel^® BV symptomatic relief product, including discussions with several key regulatory bodies. The Company is now preparing for regulatory submissions in key markets in coming months, in parallel with ongoing positive discussions with commercial partners.

In March, Starpharma announced that its commercial partner in Japan, Okamoto Industries, received regulatory approval for the VivaGel^®-coated condom in that country, and the Company is working with Okamoto in preparation for product launch.

In addition, Starpharma continues to work closely with Ansell Limited towards regulatory approval and subsequent launch of the VivaGel^®-coated condom in a number of markets. Ansell has rights to the VivaGel^®-coated condom in countries outside Japan.

In early April, Starpharma announced an expanded agreement with AstraZeneca in the field of cancer medicine using Starpharma’s proprietary DEP^™ dendrimer drug delivery technology.

Starpharma Chief Executive, Dr Jackie Fairley, said: “The first quarter of 2014 has been a very active period for Starpharma as we advance a number of clinical trial and regulatory processes related to the VivaGel^® suite of products and our drug delivery programs. It has also been a period of significant commercial advancement with the VivaGel^®-coated condom now approved for launch in Japan, licensing discussions for BV continuing positively, and our agreement with AstraZeneca extended to develop dendrimer enhanced cancer products.” 

Download ASX Announcement: Appendix 4C - Quarterly Cashflow Report ( pdf file, 110kb)