MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Minneapolis-based Humanetics Corporation (Humanetics) recently presented data at the annual meetings of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Radiation Research Society (RRS). The annual ASTRO meeting was held September 24th through the 27th in San Diego, California and the annual RRS meeting was held October 15th through the 18th in Cancun, Mexico. Dr. Zeljko Vujaskovic, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of radiation oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and director of the school’s Division of Translational Radiation Sciences, and Michael Kaytor, Ph.D., vice president of research and development at Humanetics, respectively, presented data related to Humanetics’s new drug candidate, BIO 300, which is being evaluated as a potential treatment to prevent erectile dysfunction in patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer affecting men in the U.S. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), nearly 162,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2017, representing approximately 20% of all new cancers in men. While survival rates are high, radiation-induced erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common and lingering side effect associated with prostate radiotherapy. Nearly half of all men undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer will experience some level of ED.
Data presented included the results of nonclinical studies that were conducted at UMSOM. These studies demonstrated the potential of BIO 300 to both mitigate radiation-induced ED and also to improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy to kill tumors. “These compelling results show the promise of BIO 300 to enhance a prostate cancer patient’s quality of life, while also directly impacting the ability of radiation therapy to kill the tumor,” said Dr. Vujaskovic. “If this result can be translated to the clinical treatment of prostate cancer, it would represent a breakthrough in prostate cancer treatment outcomes.”
At present, there are no FDA-approved drugs to mitigate radiation-induced ED. “BIO 300’s potential to enhance radiation’s killing effect on the tumor while reducing treatment-related side effects is unparalleled,” said Dr. Kaytor. “These findings support the advancement of BIO 300 into a human efficacy study, which is anticipated to begin in 2018.”
BIO 300 is in development for prevention and mitigation of toxicities associated with radiation exposure for the treatment of multiple cancers and is currently in a Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who are receiving chemoradiotherapy.
About Humanetics Corporation
Humanetics Corporation is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the accelerated discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary drugs in markets with urgent and unmet needs, with a focus on radiation modulators for oncology and medical countermeasure uses. For more information, visit www.humaneticscorp.com.
About the University of Maryland School of
Medicine
Commemorating its 210th Anniversary,
the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as
the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today
as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises
in the world—with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and
programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and
allied health professionals, including members of the National Academies
of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and a distinguished recipient of
the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget
of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in
partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical
System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically-based care
for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500
students, residents, and fellows, and nearly $450 million in extramural
funding, with more than half of its academic departments ranked in the
top 20 among all public medical schools in the nation in research
funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the
University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has
nearly 7,000 total employees. The combined School and Medical System
(“University of Maryland Medicine”) has a total budget of $5 billion and
an economic impact of nearly $15 billion on the state and local
community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th-highest
public medical school in research productivity, is an innovator in
translational medicine with 600 active patents and 24 start-up
companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with
research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world.
Visit medschool.umaryland.edu/.
