On December 8, 2025 Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a late-stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug candidates targeting hard-to-treat cancers and viral infections, reported it has entered into a research and material transfer agreement with CIC biomaGUNE, a non-profit research organization created to promote scientific research and technological innovation at the highest levels in the Basque Country, Spain, for investigator-initiated preclinical research evaluating Annamycin for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a form of brain cancer.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Under the terms of the agreement Moleculin will supply Annamycin and Jesús Ruiz-Cabello, Principal Investigator at CIC biomaGUNE will conduct the planned preclinical research. The studies covered under this agreement will evaluate tumor progression following intra-arterial delivery of liposomal Annamycin (L-Annamycin) and Free-Annamycin as compared to Doxil and Free-doxorubicin in mouse models.
Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin, commented, "We are excited to further expand our efforts to advance and develop Annamycin across a number of investigator-initiated studies. Annamycin has demonstrated clinical activity in acute myeloid leukemia and soft tissue sarcomas while also showing potential in preclinical models in pancreatic, GBM, and certain liver cancers amongst others."
Mr. Klemp continued, "GBM remains an area of profound unmet medical need, with current therapies offering only limited survival benefit and no meaningful long-term solutions. Collaborating with the premier research team at CIC biomaGUNE provides an important opportunity to explore Annamycin’s potential to overcome the challenges of drug delivery and resistance in central nervous system tumors. This work highlights the potential breadth of Annamycin and underscores our commitment to advancing innovative therapies for patients facing cancers with few or no effective options."
Glioblastoma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. The average annual age-adjusted incidence rate of glioblastoma is 3.19 per 100,000 persons in the United States.1 Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor with a median survival of only 15 months2. It is the most common malignant primary brain tumor making up 54% of all gliomas and 16% of all primary brain tumors.3 Despite advancements for other cancers, the survival rate for glioblastoma has not changed significantly in the last three decades.4
Annamycin, also known by its non-proprietary name of naxtarubicin, currently has Fast Track Status and Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for the treatment of relapsed or refractory AML, in addition to Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of STS lung metastases. Furthermore, Annamycin has Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of relapsed or refractory AML from the EMA.
(Press release, Moleculin, DEC 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234661266])