Theralase Technologies Inc (TSX-V:TLT, OTCQB:TLTFF) announced that its lead compound Rudivar combined with transferrin to form the compound Rutherrin has been shown to be effective in the destruction of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in a preclinical study.
The clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing light and/or radiation-activated small molecule compounds said the results came from its recent experiments using a Lewis Lung Cancer orthotopic model.
In this model, mouse lungs are subjected to lung cancer cells which causes them to develop very aggressive and fast-growing metastatic lung tumors.
The study showed that lung tumors retained Rutherrin longer than normal lung tissues.
All the mice treated with x-ray-activated Rutherrin survived, but this was not the case for the mice that only received the x-ray treatment.
Additionally, the mice treated with x-ray-activated Rutherrin demonstrated up to a four-fold slower tumor progression, MRIs showed.
Pending the successful completion of the Good Laboratory Practice toxicology program, the company intends to kick off a Phase 1a dose-escalating clinical study in the fourth quarter of Rutherrin for patients diagnosed with Glio Blastoma Multiforme (GBM) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Theralase CEO Roger DuMoulin-White said.
This study aims to determine the appropriate clinical dose of Rutherrin to be administered from a safety perspective, including toxicity and tumor location and may be expanded to include pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and colorectal cancer, based on capitalization.
“Following successful completion of Phase 1a, a Phase 1b study will be commenced to determine patient efficacy, using x-ray activated Rutherrin,” the CEO said.
“Pending the successful completion of the Phase 1a/1b clinical study, Theralase plans to commence a Phase 2 clinical study in Canada and the United States focused on enrolling and treating patients diagnosed with GBM and NSCLC, which as previously mentioned may expand to include patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and colorectal cancer, subject to capitalization.”
Dr Arkady Mandel, Theralase chief science officer, added that these results highlighted the company’s commitment to unlocking the value of its patented x-ray-activated Rutherrin Anti-Cancer Therapy platform.
“Patients diagnosed with cancers, such as GBM or NSCLC are faced with limited treatment options, with this new research hopes to solve,” Dr Mandel said.
“In addition, the Theralase preclinical research team is researching the application for x-ray activated Rutherrin to be IV administered for numerous other cancers; including pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and colorectal cancer.”