On March 21, 2024 TriSalus Life Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: TLSI), an oncology company integrating its novel delivery technology with immunotherapy to transform treatment for patients with liver and pancreatic tumors, reported that the Company will present data from recent research findings at the 2024 Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held March 23-28, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah (Press release, TriSalus Life Sciences, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641365]).

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TriSalus will share data on the technical feasibility and safety of Pressure-Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD) procedures in hypovascular tumors and initial data regarding our Pancreatic infusion technology, which is currently 510(k) cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and in the Phase 1 clinical trial with nelitolimod in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

The TriSalus approach seeks to address many of the key challenges associated with delivering therapeutics to pancreas tumors. In contrast to the liver, pancreas arteries feeding tumors are difficult to access and venous access affords anatomic advantages. Additionally, pancreatic tumors exhibit a dense, desmoplastic stroma that limits the delivery of therapeutics. The technology is designed to address these mechanical barriers and challenges by modulating pressure and flow, incorporating real-time pressure sensing capability to optimize safety and delivery.

"The presentations featuring our PEDD approach illustrates that TriSalus is committed to and focused on transforming how therapeutics are delivered into biologically challenging liver and pancreas tumors. Mechanical barriers present in the tumor microenvironment, including high intra-tumoral pressure, may limit the performance of many therapeutic classes including embolics and immunotherapy. We look forward to our continued partnership with the interventional radiology community to improve outcomes in a variety of solid tumor indications," noted Steven C. Katz, MD, FACS, Chief Medical Officer.

Presentation details for SIR 2024 are as follows:

Presentation: Clinical Efficacy of Pressure-Enabled Transarterial Embolization of Hypovascular, Treatment-Refractory Metastases.
Presenting Author: Koustav Pal, MBBS, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 3:54 p.m. MT
Location: Salt Lake Palace Convention Center, Room 255C

Presentation: The PERIO-03 Trial: Technical Feasibility and Safety of a Novel Pancreatic Retrograde Venous Immunotherapy Infusion Intervention for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.
Presenting Author: Rahul A. Sheth, MD, Associate Professor at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 4:21 p.m. MT
Location: Salt Lake Palace Convention Center, Room 255B

The presentations will be available on the publications page of the TriSalus website following the respective sessions.

On March 21, 2024 OncoHost, a technology company transforming the approach to precision medicine for improved patient outcomes, reported the publication of a study in JCO Precision Oncology (JCO PO) demonstrating the clinical validity and utility of its proprietary PROphet NSCLC test (Press release, OncoHost, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641364]).

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Entitled ‘Plasma Proteome-Based Test for First-Line Treatment Selection in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer,’ the peer-reviewed paper highlights the role of PROphet NSCLC as a plasma proteome machine learning-based decision-support tool, identifying patient subsets benefiting from PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-based therapies. Serving as a composite biomarker alongside tumor PD-L1 testing, OncoHost’s test optimizes treatment selection, leading to improved survival outcomes and potentially reducing chemotherapy-related toxicity in select patients.

"One of the greatest unmet needs in therapy of non-small cell lung cancer is the development of better predictive biomarkers for checkpoint immunotherapy," said Prof. David Gandara, clinical advisor at OncoHost and co-author of the paper. "While both PD-L1 and tumor mutational burden are approved biomarkers, they have limited applicability due to the genomic and immunologic complexity of this cancer type. The preliminary data in this paper suggests that PROphet, when used together with the PD-L1 score, can greatly improve therapeutic decision-making, and benefit our patients."

Currently, there is a significant gap in the availability of definitive biomarkers to effectively guide immunotherapy treatment decisions. It takes an average of 3-6 months to assess treatment response, which not only decreases the quality of care but also heightens the risk of poor outcomes. Despite the thousands of ongoing clinical trials exploring immunotherapy-based therapeutics, progress has remained modest. To drive meaningful advances and enhance clinical outcomes, it is imperative to identify both response and resistance biomarkers for immunotherapy-based therapies. OncoHost’s PROphet platform represents a new generation of precision oncology tools offering a solution to this critical challenge.

"This publication underscores the strength of our PROphet NSCLC test as a reliable proteomics-based decision-support tool for metastatic patients," said Ofer Sharon, MD, CEO of OncoHost. "Notably, this represents a significant step forward for the industry, as there are few precision oncology tests utilizing machine learning (ML) on liquid assays in proteomics. By integrating ML into our approach, we have created a new breed of tests that can analyze vast amounts of data points from the blood proteome, providing clear clinical utility for physicians treating patients with advanced disease. Thank you to all the patients, physicians, and scientists who, together with our dedicated team at OncoHost, made this work possible. I am eager to see the promising developments ahead."

On March 21, 2024 Carisma Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CARM) ("Carisma" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, reported its upcoming presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place from April 5-10, 2024, in San Diego, California (Press release, Carisma Therapeutics, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641363]).

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The poster presentation will showcase preclinical data illustrating the advancements made with Carisma’s proprietary Engineered Microenvironment Converters (EM-C) platform. Furthermore, Michael Klichinsky, PharmD, PhD, Co-Founder, and Chief Scientific Officer at Carisma, will present "Engineering Macrophages for Cancer Immunotherapy: CARs and Beyond" during the Major Symposium session titled "Engineering Strategies Based on NK, gd T Cells and Their Receptors, and Macrophages," scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2024, from 10:15 AM to 11:45 AM PT.

Details on the poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2024 are below:

Poster Title: Macrophages Expressing Synthetic Cytokine Receptors Reverse IL10-Mediated Immunosuppression within Solid Tumors and Promote Adaptive Immunity
Session Title: Adoptive Cell Therapies 4
Abstract Number: 5249
Session Date & Time: Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM PT

On March 21, 2024 NeuExcell Therapeutics, a leading biotechnology company focused on in vivo neural regenerative therapies, reported the successful dosing of the first patient with the first-in-class NeuroD1 gene therapy product NXL-004 (Press release, NeuExcell Therapeutics, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641362]). This milestone represents significant progress in the development of new treatment for malignant glioma patients.

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Led by Professor Yulun Huang and his team at the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in Suzhou, China, the investigator-initiated trial (IIT) will evaluate the safety and tolerability of NeuExcell’s AAV-NeuroD1 gene therapy product NXL-004 in patients with glioblastoma. This clinical study marks the first clinical use of AAV-NeuroD1 gene therapy to treat patients worldwide.

Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive form of brain cancer with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. NXL-004, based on NeuExcell’s revolutionary in vivo trans-differentiation technology platform, aims to inhibit tumor cell proliferation and promote their transformation into neural cells through the overexpression of the NeuroD1 transcription factor. The advantage of this glioma cell trans-differentiation approach is minimal side-effect on other brain cells, which is distinct from radiation or chemotherapy that has collateral damage on healthy cells. Promising preclinical results from animal model studies have paved the way for this groundbreaking clinical trial, offering hope for many patients suffering from debilitating brain disorders such as malignant glioma.

"We are very excited about completing the dosing of the first patient using NeuroD1 gene therapy product NXL-004 in this exploratory clinical study," said Dr. Yulun Huang, the study’s lead investigator. "This milestone underscores the dedication of our team to try innovative approaches in addressing unmet medical needs such as glioblastoma. We are committed to closely monitor the patient and evaluate the safety and efficacy of NXL-004 in this trial."

Professor Gong Chen, the inventor of in vivo neural regenerative gene therapy and the founder of NeuExcell Therapeutics, expressed his gratitude: "We are grateful to Professor Yulun Huang and his team for their outstanding work. This first-in-human trial sets an important milestone for our first-in-class NeuroD1 gene therapy that has the potential to treat millions of patients suffering from severe neurological disorders. We are dedicated to developing game-changing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases using in vivo neural regenerative therapies."

On March 21, 2024 Accent Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of small molecule precision cancer therapies, reported four upcoming presentations and posters at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place April 5-10 in San Diego, California (Press release, Accent Therapeutics, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641361]).

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The oral symposium presentations will speak to the promise of RNA-modifying enzyme inhibitors as precision cancer therapeutics, and more specifically detail the rationale for DHX9 inhibition as a novel treatment modality for patients with BRCA1/2 loss-of-function across multiple tumor types, including breast cancer, as well as dMMR/MSI-H tumors, including colorectal, gastric and endometrial cancers. Posters will present data supporting inhibition of KIF18A in chromosomally instable tumors and induction of circBRIP1 RNA as a biomarker for DHX9 inhibition.

Details for the presentations and posters are as follows:

Major Symposium Presentation Title: Small molecule inhibitors of RNA modifying enzymes as precision cancer therapeutics

Presentation Number: SY11-02
Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 10:40 AM – 10:55 AM PT
Location: Room 29 – Upper Level
Presenter: Robert Copeland, Ph.D.
Mini Symposium Presentation Title: DHX9 inhibition as a novel therapeutic for cancer with loss-of-function mutations in DNA damage repair genes BRCA1 and BRCA2

Abstract Number: 3908
Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 2:50 PM – 3:05 PM PT
Location: Ballroom 6 DE – Upper Level
Presenter: Jennifer Castro
Poster Title: Inhibition of KIF18A leads to mitotic arrest and robust anti-tumor activity in chromosomally instable tumors

Abstract Number: 3337
Session Date and Time: Monday, April 8, 2024, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM PT
Location: Poster Section 28
Poster Board Number: 25
Presenter: Maureen Lynes, Ph.D.
Poster Title: circBRIP1 RNA as a non-invasive target engagement pharmacodynamic biomarker for DHX9 inhibition

Abstract Number: 520
Session Date and Time: Sunday, April 7, 2024, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM PT
Location: Poster Section 21
Poster Board Number: 17
Presenter: David Brennen
About DHX9
Accent’s lead program is a first-in-class DHX9 inhibitor with the potential to address high unmet need indications not adequately served by existing therapies, including tumors with BRCA loss of function (breast, ovarian), mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) cancers (colorectal, endometrial, gastric) and additional undisclosed cancer types representing large patient populations. DHX9 is a DNA/RNA helicase that has been reported to play important roles in replication, transcription, translation, RNA splicing, RNA processing, and maintenance of genomic stability. Hence, this enzyme represents a compelling novel oncology target as inhibition of DHX9 exploits key tumor vulnerabilities, resulting in cancer-specific death. Accent is currently conducting IND-enabling studies evaluating its DHX9 inhibitor.

About KIF18A
Accent’s second lead program is a potential best-in-class inhibitor for KIF18A which may address a large patient population across several cancer indications, including ovarian and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). KIF18A is a mitotic kinesin motor protein critical for cell division in select tumors with chromosomal instability. A subset of tumor cells with an abnormal number of chromosomes (aneuploid) are reliant on KIF18A and show rapid cell killing in vitro and in vivo upon KIF18A inhibitor treatment, while cells with normal numbers of chromosomes (euploid) are unaffected. Accent is planning to initiate IND-enabling studies for KIF18A in the first half of 2024.