Verrica Pharmaceuticals Announces Presentation of Lesion Clearance Data from an Ongoing Phase 2 Study of VP-315 for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2023 Innovation Academy Meeting

Presentation highlights the antitumor response of VP-315 for the non-surgical treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) as determined by clinical and histological lesion clearance

There are approximately 3-4 million diagnoses of basal cell carcinomas in the U.S. each year, with a high unmet need for non-surgical treatment options

WEST CHESTER, Pa., Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Verrica” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: VRCA), a dermatology therapeutics company developing medications for skin diseases requiring medical interventions, today announced the presentation of lesion clearance data from Part 1 of an ongoing Phase 2 study of VP-315 for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The presentation is titled “VP-315, an Investigational Non-surgical Immunotherapy in Subjects with Biopsy Proven Basal Cell Carcinoma” and highlights the antitumor response of VP-315 as determined by clinical and histological clearance of treated BCC lesions. Dr. Neal Bhatia MD, Director of Clinical Dermatology Therapeutics Clinical Research in San Diego and Principal Investigator for the study, presented the data at the 2023 American Academy of Dermatology Innovation Academy, which is being held from August 10-13^th, in Tampa, FL.

Part 1 Study Results

• Subjects received once daily dosing of VP-315, administered intratumorally, in up to 2 biopsy-proven BCC lesions for up to 6 treatments over a 2-week period.
• Six lesions were treated at the 8 mg dose and post-treatment clinical assessment and excisions were performed at Day 49 (Range 35-70), followed by histological evaluation.
• Consistent clinical and histological clearance of treated BCC lesions was observed by Day 49 post-treatment with the 8 mg dose of VP-315, with 4 of 6 subjects (67%) showing complete tumor clearance. The other 2 subjects showed a partial response in tumor burden reduction (95% tumor clearance and 30% tumor clearance).
• Optimization of the 8 mg dosing regimen is under investigation in Part 2 of the study.
• These early encouraging results from Part 1 support VP-315 as a potential non-surgical therapeutic approach for BCC.
  

“We are pleased to report these encouraging results for our novel oncolytic peptide therapy, VP-315, in basal cell carcinoma at this year’s American Academy of Dermatology Innovation Academy,” said Ted White, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verrica Pharmaceuticals. “Based on the stronger than expected activity we observed in patients receiving the 8 mg dose of VP-315, we recently made the decision to expand Part 2 of the ongoing Phase 2 trial which we believe will accelerate the clinical development of VP-315.”