Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC (Nasdaq: BDRX) recently announced the University of Bonn, Germany is now actively screening patients for the Phase 3 Serenta clinical trial evaluating eRapa in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). This marks the first European site activation for the registrational Serenta trial, representing a major milestone in expanding FAP treatment options to European patients who currently have no approved non-surgical therapeutic alternatives.

Commenting, Gary Shangold MD, Chief Medical Officer of Biodexa said “Coming shortly after approval of our Clinical Trial Application by the European Medicines Agency, opening of the first site in Europe for our Serenta trial in FAP is another major milestone. The support of our collaborators, Emtora Biosciences, our European CRO Precision for Medicine and the $20 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas have helped make this possible.”

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Serenta trial (NCT06950385) is designed to evaluate whether eRapa can prevent disease progression in patients with FAP. If left untreated, FAP leads to colorectal cancer in nearly all patients by age 50. Currently, the only treatment option available to FAP patients is sequential surgical resection of much of the gastrointestinal tract, with consequential impact on quality of life. Nine additional European sites will activate during the next 2-3 months across the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and Italy. The Serenta trial began enrolling in the US in August 2025. For more information about the Serenta trial, including eligibility criteria and site locations, please visit https://serentatrial.com/.

Familial adenomatous polyposis is a rare, inherited disorder characterized by the development of hundreds to thousands of colorectal polyps and a near-100% lifetime risk of colorectal cancer if left untreated. There is a significant unmet need for effective, less invasive therapies for FAP patients. FAP is characterized as a proliferation of polyps in the colon and/or rectum, usually occurring in mid-teens. There is no approved therapeutic option for treating FAP patients, for whom active surveillance and surgical resection of the colon and/or rectum remain the standard of care. If untreated, FAP typically leads to cancer of the colon and/or rectum. There is a significant hereditary component to FAP with a reported prevalence of one in 5,000 to 10,000 in the US¹ and one in 11,300 to 37,600 in Europe². Importantly, mTOR has been shown to be over-expressed in FAP polyps – thereby underscoring the rationale for using a potent and safe mTOR inhibitor like eRapa to treat FAP.

eRapa is a proprietary oral capsule formulation of rapamycin, also known as sirolimus. Rapamycin is an mTOR (mammalian Target Of Rapamycin) inhibitor. mTOR has been shown to have a significant role in the signalling pathway that regulates cellular metabolism, growth and proliferation and is activated during tumorgenesis³. Importantly, mTOR has been shown to be over-expressed in FAP polyps – thereby underscoring the rationale for using a potent and safe mTOR inhibitor like eRapa to treat FAP. Rapamycin is approved in the US for organ rejection in renal transplantation as Rapamune (Pfizer). Through the use of nanotechnology and pH sensitive polymers, eRapa is designed to address the poor bioavailability, variable pharmacokinetics and toxicity generally associated with the currently available forms of rapamycin. eRapa is protected by a number of issued patents which extend through 2035, with other pending applications potentially providing further protection beyond 2035.

To date, CPRIT has awarded $2.9 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs. CPRIT has recruited 237 distinguished researchers, supported the establishment, expansion or relocation of 43 companies to Texas and generated over $5.7 billion in additional public and private investment. CPRIT funding has advanced scientific and clinical knowledge and provided 7.4 million life-saving cancer prevention and early detection services reaching Texans from all 254 counties. On November 5, 2019, Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to provide an additional $3 billion to CPRIT for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention. Learn more at https://cprit.texas.gov/.

1. www.rarediseases.org
   2.        www.orpha.net
   3.        Tian et al., mTOR Signaling in Cancer and mTOR Inhibitors in Solid Tumor Targeting Therapy, Int J Mol Sci.2019 Feb; 20(3): 755

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals PLC (listed on NASDAQ: BDRX) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of innovative products for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs. The Company’s lead development programs include eRapa, under development for Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer; tolimidone, under development for the treatment of type 1 diabetes; and MTX110, which is being studied in aggressive rare/orphan brain cancer indications.

eRapa is a proprietary oral capsule formulation of rapamycin, also known as sirolimus. Rapamycin is an mTOR (mammalian Target Of Rapamycin) inhibitor. mTOR has been shown to have a significant role in the signalling pathway that regulates cellular metabolism, growth and proliferation and is activated during tumorigenesis.

Tolimidone is an orally delivered, potent and selective inhibitor of Lyn kinase. Lyn is a member of the Src family of protein tyrosine kinases, which is mainly expressed in hematopoietic cells, in neural tissues, liver, and adipose tissue. Tolimidone demonstrates glycaemic control via insulin sensitization in animal models of diabetes and has the potential to become a first in class blood glucose modulating agent.

MTX110 is a solubilized formulation of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, panobinostat. This proprietary formulation enables delivery of the product via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) at chemotherapeutic doses directly to the site of the tumor, by-passing the blood-brain barrier and potentially avoiding systemic toxicity.

Biodexa is supported by three proprietary drug delivery technologies focused on improving the bio-delivery and bio-distribution of medicines. Biodexa’s headquarters and R&D facility is in Cardiff, UK. For more information visit www.biodexapharma.com.