MARSEILLE, France & HOUSTON—Vect-Horus and RadioMedix have announced the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) to establish an agreement for the co-development of a Vect-Horus theranostic agent for the diagnostic and radiotherapy of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). This partnership plans to marry the expertise of Vect-Horus in targeting tumors with its technology VECTrans, and the know-how of RadioMedix in developing and conducting pre-clinical evaluation and clinical trials with radiopharmaceuticals.
“We look forward to very compelling outcomes from our co-development project, as we seek to create new technologies for the benefit of cancer patients, by giving doctors and hospitals more imaging and treatment options,” said Dr. Jamal Temsamani, director of drug development at Vect-Horus.
“RadioMedix has strong interests and all expertise needed to develop the VECTrans–based radio-theranostic agents for GBM,” added Izabela Tworowska, Ph.D., CSO of RadioMedix. “Targeting LDLR can improve the blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability of the drug and selectively deliver the isotope payload to GBM cancer cells.”
GBM is the most common and most aggressive malignant type of primary brain tumors, and is a serious and life-threatening condition. The theranostic agent targets the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which is highly expressed on many cancer cells, including glioblastoma. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biodistribution studies in human glioblastoma xenograft and orthotopic models have shown a significant accumulation of the agent within the tumor.
“Development of a highly sensitive and effective theranostic approach for GBM has always been among our top priorities. Our initial evaluation of VECTrans technology appears to be extremely promising,” noted Dr. Ebrahim Delpassand, CEO of RadioMedix. “Our plan is to utilize VECTrans technology to initially develop an accurate molecular diagnostic PET/CT probe to precisely map the tumor involvement in the brain. This will significantly improve precision of the surgical resection of the tumor. The treatment will then be followed by targeted alpha-emitter or beta-emitter radionuclide therapy using the same technology to eradicate any residual malignant cells at the molecular level.”
“We are pleased that our technology, VECTrans in combination with expertise of RadioMedix will serve to advance an innovative and promising approach for glioblastoma treatment,” expressed Alexandre Tokay, CEO of Vect-Horus. “This co-development project is fully aligned with our strategy to expand the use of our technology in cancer indications with high unmet medical needs.”
