Wigen Biomedicine Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. has disclosed isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP+) (IDPc, IDH1) mutant inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
A Harvard Medical School research team developed a bifunctional therapeutic vaccine strategy by transforming living tumor cells into a potent agent with direct tumor killing and immunostimulatory abilities.
Transcode Therapeutics Inc. has received clearance from the FDA to proceed with a first-in-human phase 0 trial of TTX-MC138 in cancer patients with advanced solid tumors. A single dose of radiolabeled TTX-MC138 will be followed by noninvasive PET-MRI to quantify the amount of radiolabeled TTX-MC138 delivered to metastatic lesions.
Cancer both imitates and hijacks the nervous system, to the extent that some researchers consider tumor-neuronal interactions a new hallmark of cancer. Unsurprisingly, the parallels are particularly strong in brain cancers. Glioblastomas form electrically interconnected networks, similar to neuronal-glial gap junctions, that help them grow. Now, researchers have identified key players in these networks, as well as ways to target them and possibly take down the networks.
Orgenesis Inc. and Kurve Therapeutics Inc. have announced promising preclinical study results for intranasal administration of a cell-based oncolytic virus-bearing product.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common type of primary brain tumor in adults, with only a 7% rate of 5-year overall survival for patients. Oncolytic viruses based on HSV-1 vectors are an interesting and to-explore area for GBM treatment.
An investigational dendritic cell vaccine from Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., administered with standard of care, extended both median overall survival (OS) and "the ‘long tail' of the survival curve" vs. matched external controls in newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer patients, according to results published Nov. 17 in JAMA Oncology.
It was a good week for companies focused on minimally invasive brain surgery. Monteris Medical Corp. received $35 million in a series D equity financing and a $38 million debt facility to support market adoption and clinical research on its Neuroblate system, a laser ablation system that provides a minimally invasive option for brain surgery. Nico Corp. also raised additional funds, with a $12.5 million oversubscribed round for its devices, which do not require cutting through the brain but instead use the natural folds of the brain to reach abnormalities.
