Plus, Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTV) has a wide range of innovative chemotherapeutics and radiotherapeutics, all of which address the unmet medical needs of rare cancers. However, the company has two lead drug product candidates, RNL and DocePLUS. It has also made a significant milestone in completing the fifth cohort of the ReSPECT Clinical Trial. This will result in an expansion of the second clinical trial site in Dallas; the UT Southwestern Medical Center
Support from the National Cancer Institute
ReSPECT is a potential target drug for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) in adults. They must have undergone the standard surgical, radiation, and chemotherapy treatment. Thus, the clinical trial will be evaluating its safety and tolerability. The good news is that all this will be accomplished as a result of a supportive award from the National Cancer Institute.
According to Dr. Andrew Brenner, the principal investigator of the trial and Co-Leader of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics Program, there is hope for new radiation treatment for recurrent GBM patients.
The rare disease is reportedly incurable and fatal, with a survival median of about nine months regardless of the current standard of care. However, the delivery of the local radiation with Rhenium NanoLiposomes (RNL), is likely to offer 25 times of greater safety than what is currently being offered to patients.
The Expansion of ReSPECT to another Site
Stereotactic technology is used to deliver very high therapeutic doses of ReSPECT directly into the brain tumor. The robust performance in it has encouraged Plus Therapeutics to pursue new sites to expand it. Enrollment and patient screening are ongoing at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Meanwhile, the company is also eying an additional site, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The company says that it derives its motivation from the need to provide meaningful benefits to patients. It maximizes the many potential advantages it has, including being close to world-class cancer institutions and researchers. This is an addition to the ability to apply and qualify for funding. Through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or CPRIT, Plus Therapeutics has received almost $2.5 billion in funds since its inception in 2008.
