On April 9, 2019 NanOlogy, a clinical-stage oncology company, reported the first patient has been enrolled in a clinical trial of NanoDoce (sterile submicron particle docetaxel suspension) for treatment of bladder cancer (Press release, NanOlogy, APR 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234535081]). The Phase 1/2 dose-rising trial will evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of NanoDoce for patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

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In 2019, an estimated 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and an estimated 18,000 will die from the disease. Despite being one of the top five cancer diagnoses in the U.S., the last drug FDA approved for NMIBC was more than a decade ago. Of all cancers, bladder cancer tends to have the highest lifetime treatment costs due to the frequency of recurrence, progression to MIBC often requiring removal of the bladder (cystectomy), and lifetime cost of care thereafter.

In the NanOlogy clinical trial, following transurethral resection of the bladder tumor, subjects will receive direct injections of NanoDoce into the base of the index tumor resection site in combination with an intravesical instillation of NanoDoce. Additional intravesical instillations of NanoDoce will be administered to NMIBC subjects while MIBC subjects will follow institutional standard of care.

The local delivery of submicron particle docetaxel suspension [NanoDoce] represents an important step in evaluating new therapies for the treatment bladder cancer", said Dr. Donald Lamm, MD, President of BCG Oncology and principal investigator on the trial. "Preclinical studies suggest the submicron particle technology improves both the penetration of drug into the bladder wall and its duration of activity. If this investigational drug can be proven to delay or prevent disease progression and need for cystectomy, it would contribute significantly to the quality of life of patients with this disease."

An abstract from preclinical studies of NanoDoce was presented in February at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancer Symposium. In one of the studies, NanoDoce administered via intratumoral injection resulted in prolonged, high concentration of drug in tumor tissue, significant tumor regression, and immune cell infiltration in a xenograft animal model of transitional cell bladder carcinoma. The immune cell infiltration is of particular interest to NanOlogy for future research into the role NanoDoce may play in combination with immunoncology therapy for the treatment of advanced disease.

This work is in addition to extensive preclinical and clinical development programs underway by NanOlogy in peritoneal/ovarian cancers, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic mucinous cysts, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and cutaneous metastases.

All NanOlogy investigational drugs are progressing under FDA’s streamlined 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. The NanOlogy submicron particle technology platform is based on a patented production process that reduces the size of paclitaxel and docetaxel API crystals by up to 400 times into stable submicron particles of pure drug with exponentially increased surface area and unique geometry. The submicron particles are so unique they are protected under a composition of matter patent (US 9,814,685) valid until 2036, which provides new molecular entity-like advantages without the risks and timeline associated with NME drug development.