The most recent performance data on Cancer Targeted Technology’s (CTT) leading drugs, CTT1057 and CTT1403, in prostate cancer clinical and preclinical studies will be presented at several scientific and business meetings in June and one that took place in April, the company announced in a press release.
The meetings featuring CTT presentations include the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) 2017 Annual Meeting June 2-6 in Chicago; the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging (SNMMI) 2017 Annual Meeting June 10-14 in Denver; and the 253rd American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting and Exposition, which was held April 2-6 in San Francisco.
The biotech firm develops small molecules that target key proteins (called enzymes) in cancer. The company’s first candidate targets the prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in prostate cancer, which is proposed to have both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Two drugs are being developed, CTT1057 and CTT1403, both targeting the prostate cancer biomarker, PSMA.
PSMA expression is significantly higher in prostate cancer cells, increasing with the development of the tumor and as it metastasizes (when cancer cells break away from the primary tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system and form new tumors – metastatic tumors – in other parts of the body).
The mode of action of the drugs under development is somewhat different from previous candidates: These drugs bind irreversibly to PSMA but in a special manner, since upon binding the drug enhances both the uptake and internalization of bound PSMA inside tumor cells. With time, there is an accumulation of the drugs inside tumor cells.
CTT1057 is a diagnostic molecule used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, a type of molecular (also known as nuclear) imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers to evaluate organs and tissue functions. Since it detects alterations occurring at the cellular level, PET may notice the early onset of disease, a feature not evident with imaging tests.
CTT1057 is radiolabeled with fluorine-18 and is under clinical investigation in a clinical trial (NCT02916537) in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.
CTT1403 is used as a radiotherapy drug for prostate cancer and it is radiolabeled with lutetium-177. The drug is in the last stages of preclinical development, and it is expected to enter clinical trials in 2018.