A Vancouver-based therapeutics innovator announced this week that the first patient has entered the next phase of a cancer medication trial.
The medication from Sustained Therapeutics targets a rare form of cancer, Upper Tract Urethral Carcinoma. A cancer of the inside lining of the kidney, UTUC affects over 7,000 individuals annually across North America.
The awkward location of this particular cancer makes it challenging to access and remote with traditional laser methods, says Dr. Peter Black, lead investigator of the clinical trial and a Senior Research Scientist with the Vancouver Prostate Centre.
“Currently we have limited treatment options for this uncommon and challenging cancer,” he said, “and this approach may allow better disease control without having to remove a kidney.”
With the first patient in the clinical trial enrolled at the VPC, it is anticipated that five other sites will take part in the study. Sustained Therapeutics plans on enrolling approximately 75 patients in the combined Phase II/Phase III trial and believes that ST-02 may be designated an orphan drug, which could qualify the company for tax credits and market exclusivity.
“This is a new opportunity in the treatment of UTUC?,” says Black.
Sustained Therapeutics is a spin-off from the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Prostate Centre. The company’s ST-02 product for UTUC is a sustained release formulation that enables direct delivery of chemotherapy to the site of the carcinoma via a catheter.
Using proprietary platform technology, ST-02 releases medication over 24 hours where the cancer is located, delivering chemotherapy at higher concentrations and for longer than the current standard of care, according to the B.C. startup.
The innovation is a “very important development in our portfolio,” says Dr. Martin Gleave, founder of Sustained Therapeutics and a distinguished professor at UBC.
“ST-02 is Sustained Therapeutic’s second product to reach Phase II trials, and demonstrates our potential to develop multiple products using our novel drug delivery platforms,” he explains. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of this work.”
ST’s other flagship product, dubbed ST-01, is a sustained-release lidocaine formulation designed for the treatment of acute and chronic pain.
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