Can-Fite Biopharma CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman talks about the role of CF101 in treating psoriasis

🎥 Aug 01, 2014 📺 CorporateProfile ⏱ 5m 👁 1097 views

Interview with Dr. Pnina Fishman, CEO of Can-Fite Biopharma about the company's new drug: CF101, which hopes to change the way Psoriasis is treated. To learn more visit: www.canfite.com

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About Pnina Fishman

Pnina Fishman, CEO and founder of Can-Fite Biopharma, has presented company updates in multiple investor webinars and conferences between 2022 and 2025. She stated that the company has signed seven out-licensing agreements, receiving $20 million in upfront non-dilutive payments, with an additional $130 million expected from regulatory and sales milestones. Fishman noted that as of early 2025, the company had approximately $8 million in cash, which she said should support operations for 16 to 18 months. She described ongoing enrollment in a Phase III trial for Namodenoson in advanced liver cancer and a Phase IIb trial in NASH, and said the company is planning a Phase IIa study in pancreatic cancer. Fishman also reported that a Phase III trial for Piclidenoson in psoriasis had completed enrollment and that topline results were expected. Fishman has characterized Can-Fite’s drugs as orally bioavailable small molecules that target the A3 adenosine receptor, which she said is present only in pathological cells. She cited a published comparison suggesting Piclidenoson showed sustained efficacy beyond 12 weeks compared to Otezla, and described a liver cancer patient who, she said, had been treated for over seven years and was considered cured. Fishman stated that the company’s strategy is to develop and register drugs but not to market them, relying on partnerships for commercialization. She acknowledged that the share price did not reflect the pipeline in her view, and expressed confidence that positive clinical data would be reflected in the stock price.

Source: AI-verified profile updated from Pnina Fishman's recent appearances. Browse all interviews →

Transcript (7 segments)

Narrator0:00

Since August is National Psoriasis Month, it's a good time to talk about new treatments being developed to treat this disease. There is growing awareness of psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes raised, red, scaly patches to appear on the skin. It affects about 3% of the general population and can be mild, moderate, or severe. Severe psoriasis has a major effect on the physical and emotional well-being of the patient. In moderate to severe cases, systemic biologic drugs delivered via IV have dominated the market. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, common side effects of biologics include respiratory infections, flu-like symptoms, and injection site reactions. Rare side effects include serious nervous system disorders such as MS, seizures, or inflammation of the nerves of the eyes, blood disorders, and certain types of cancer. A significant need remains for novel, oral, and safe drugs for psoriasis patients who do not respond to existing therapies or for whom these therapies are unsuitable. The psoriasis therapeutic market was worth 3.6 billion in 2010 and is forecast to grow to 6.7 billion by 2018, according to GlobalData. Today, we're joined by Dr. Pnina Fishman, CEO of Can-Fite BioPharma. Can-Fite is developing a drug to treat psoriasis, so let's go to Dr. Fishman to learn more about it.

Pnina Fishman1:36

Psoriasis is a systemic disease. It is manifested in the skin of the patients, but in order to treat the disease, you need to use a systemic drug which will reach the immunological system and will resolve the problem systemically and not only on the skin. This is really the reason that in order to win the disease, you need to use a drug which will be able to target your immunocytes and to be like a cure for your disease.

Biological drugs are very efficacious. At the same time, the way of administration and the side effects which are generated upon taking this drug make them quite challenging. Can-Fite develops currently CF11 as an oral drug. The patient will be able to take it at home, morning and evening. We have dosed still today more than 1,000 patients, and the drug happened to be very safe and efficacious in the frame of our Phase 2 clinical studies and the interim analysis of the Phase 2/3 study that we have concluded recently.

Our small molecular drug will get through the intestine to the blood and will distribute all over the body. It will bind to both the immunocytes and the skin cells and will induce cell death of the inflammatory cells. The drug is very safe, so it can be taken chronically for a very long period of time. And by doing that, it will evoke a robust anti-inflammatory effect and can act as an efficacious drug for psoriasis.

Our drug is an oral drug taken by the patients twice daily at home. It has an excellent safety profile, and it targets specifically and selectively only the pathological cells in the patient's body. It means that when the patients will take it chronically for a very long period of time, they will be able to enjoy the efficacy of the drug and at the same time the safety and the fact that the drug does not induce any adverse events.

Till today, we have dosed more than 1,200 patients with CF11 for long periods of time, and the drug happened to be very well tolerated and has an excellent safety profile. We envision that we will need to conduct an additional Phase 3 study after concluding the current Phase 2/3 study. So it's around three years from now that we will be able to launch the drug to the market.

Narrator5:11

If you want to learn more about Can-Fite BioPharma, you can visit the company's website at can-fite.com. Their ticker is CANF, and they're listed on the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Anaria Chen, and you're watching Corporate Profile.