On August 31, 2026 TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAZ), a clinical stage company pioneering immuno-oncology and RNA-based therapeutics for the treatment of high risk and advanced cancers, reported the publication of a peer-reviewed article in Cancers titled, "Targeting miR-10b in Breast Cancer Bone Colonization Model Using Image-Guided Nucleic Acid-Based Therapeutics." The study reports that TransCode’s lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138, produced significant survival benefits in a preclinical model of breast cancer bone metastasis while demonstrating favorable tolerability and no observed systemic toxicity.

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The publication builds on a growing body of evidence supporting microRNA-10b (miR-10b) as an important driver of cancer metastasis and further validates TransCode’s therapeutic approach of inhibiting miR-10b using proprietary oligonucleotide nanotechnology.

The study was led by Dr. Anna Moore, Professor in the Radiology and Physiology Departments, Director of the Precision Health Program and Associate Dean for Research Development at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Dr. Moore is a co-founder of TransCode Therapeutics and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, and a globally recognized expert in molecular imaging and RNA-targeted cancer therapeutics.

"Metastatic disease remains responsible for the overwhelming majority of cancer deaths, and effective therapies specifically designed to target metastasis remain limited," said Zdravka Medarova, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of TransCode Therapeutics and co-author of the publication. "These findings demonstrate that miR-10b inhibition can significantly impact survival in a challenging model of metastatic cancer and further support the potential applicability of our platform across multiple metastatic tumor types."

Key Findings

Among the study’s findings:

TTX-MC138 successfully accumulated in metastatic bone lesions in a mouse model of bone cancer bone metastasis following systemic administration.
Treatment significantly reduced expression of miR-10b, a microRNA implicated in metastatic progression, and increased expression of HOXD10, a downstream tumor-suppressor target.
Animals treated with anti-miR-10b therapeutics demonstrated significant survival benefits compared with controls.
Repeated dosing was well tolerated, with no evidence of systemic toxicity observed during the study.
The results support the use of image-guided anti-miR-10b nanotherapeutics as a potentially translatable strategy for treating metastatic cancer.
Bone is the most common site of metastatic spread in breast cancer and represents a major unmet medical need, with patients experiencing substantial morbidity and poor long-term outcomes. The authors concluded that targeting miR-10b using an image-guided anti-miR-10b nanotherapeutic represents a promising and translatable strategy for treating breast cancer bone metastases.

Relevance to TransCode’s Clinical Program

While TransCode’s current clinical development efforts are focused on metastatic cancers and its ongoing TTX-MC138 program in molecular residual disease-positive colorectal cancer, the newly published findings suggest potential future applicability of miR-10b inhibition across additional metastatic disease settings where tumor spread drives poor outcomes.

The article was published online on August 23, 2026, in Cancers, a peer-reviewed oncology journal.

About TTX-MC138

TTX-MC138 is a first-in-class therapeutic candidate designed to inhibit microRNA-10b, or miR-10b, a microRNA widely believed to be critical to the emergence and progression of many metastatic cancers. TransCode’s Phase 1a first-in-human clinical trial achieved its primary safety endpoint and established a recommended Phase 2 dose, as announced at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2025.

(Press release, TransCode Therapeutics, AUG 31, 2026, View Source [SID1234670461])