Aura Biosciences said today that the FDA approved its Investigational New Drug Application for the company’s light-activated viral nanoparticle conjugates for the treatment of ocular melanoma. The federal watchdog’s approval allows Cambridge, Mass.-based Aura to move forward with initial clinical tests of AU-011. The Phase Ib open-label clinical trial, which is currently enrolling, is designed to […]
Oncology
Researchers develop immune cells that infiltrate tumors
Researchers from the Okayama University have developed a group of immune cells that can infiltrate tumors and deliver viral vectors, destroying them from the inside out. The team’s work was published in the journal Scientific Reports. The team developed the tumor-targeting technique using a human T-cell line known as HOZOT, which naturally targets human cancer cells. HOZOT cell […]
NantKwest launches clinical trial for natural killer cells
NantKwest Inc. (NSDQ:NK) said yesterday that the FDA approved an Investigational New Drug Application for its natural killer cell therapy phase I clinical study. The company is evaluating its genetically engineered, allogenic natural killer cell therapy in patients with cancer. The study, which NantKwest touts as the 1st of its kind, will determine the safety […]
Scientists develop nanoparticles to ‘suffocate’ tumor cells
A team of researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the East China Normal University have developed polyvinyl pyrrolidone modified nanoparticles that serve as a deoxygenation agent against tumor cells. The therapy, which is described in Nature Nanotechnology, targeted cancer cells by cutting off the tumor’s blood supply to deprive and ‘suffocate’ […]
Cytori buys Azaya’s nanoparticle tech in stock deal
Cytori Therapeutics (NSDQ:CYTX) said this week that it bought San Antonio-based Azaya Therapeutics and its nanoparticle cancer drugs in a stock deal. Azaya shareholders will receive $2 million in CTYX stock. San Diego-based Cytori will also pay $2 million upfront for costs associated with Azaya’s new manufacturing facility in San Antonio. Cytori will acquire a […]
Merrimack sells liposome injections to Ipsen for $575m
In a deal that could earn the Cambridge, Mass.-based pharmaceutical company over $1.03 billion, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:MACK) said yesterday that it is selling its liposome injection cancer drugs, Onivyde and generic Doxil, to Ipsen (EPA:IPN). Merrimack is also slashing its employee headcount down to just 80 people, after laying off 22% of its 400 employees […]
Celsion’s ThermoDox activated by ultrasound in pediatric cancer study
Celsion (NSDQ:CLSN) and Children’s National Health System are teaming up to tackle refractory solid tumors in pediatric patients using a heat-activated chemotherapy drug and noninvasive ultrasound. The Phase I clinical trial, which launched last November, is the 1st of its kind in the U.S. Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Celsion’s ThermoDox is a heat-activated liposomal doxorubicin. In combination with MRI, […]
Taris Biomedical closes enrollment in phase Ib trial for drug-device combo
Taris Biomedical said today that it closed initial enrollment in its phase Ib clinical trial following positive results. The study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of its drug-device combination product that releases gemcitabine continuously into the bladder for 7 days in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer. Although the study was slated to enroll […]
Keystone Nano wins FDA nod for nanoliposome cancer treatment
Keystone Nano said today that the FDA approved its investigational new drug application for the ceramide nanoliposome as a treatment for solid tumors. The company will launch a phase I trial at 3 sites to evaluate safe dosing levels and the product’s efficacy as a cancer therapy. Ceramide is a lipid that has demonstrated efficacy in […]
Penn State researchers use immune cells to deliver cancer drugs
Researchers from the Penn State Materials Research Institute have developed a biodegradable and photoluminescent nanoparticle that are carried by immune cells to target melanoma. The team’s work was published last week in the journal Small. “The traditional way to deliver drugs to tumors is to put the drug inside some type of nanoparticle and inject those […]
