- CNS Pharmaceuticals, a Texas-based cancer drug developer, is advancing testing efforts for its lead drug candidates in the fight against glioblastoma (“GBM”) and other tumors
- Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer that claims the lives of more than 10,000 Americans each year, with more victims worldwide, and it has no known cure
- CNS Pharmaceuticals’ efforts rely on establishing the safety and effectiveness of its lead candidate, Berubicin
- Berubicin is an anthracycline (chemotherapy agent) with the apparent ability to cross the blood-brain barrier to attack central nervous system tumors, which grants it a unique status among anthracyclines
- CNS has shown evidence of slowing disease progression among GBM patients and in some instances even shrinking tumor size, and is currently enrolling volunteers in a trial that compares Berubicin against chemotherapeutic agent Lomustine
Bit by bit, medical researchers have been improving treatment options for an aggressive, incurable brain cancer that kills an estimated 10,000-plus people in the United States each year, and more worldwide.
Glioblastoma (“GBM”) is generally treated with radiochemotherapy and surgical tumor removal once the cancer is discovered, usually after the sudden onset of headaches and nausea. But eventually, nearly every tumor returns after the initial course of treatment, and the recurrent cancers are increasingly difficult to attack without causing more extreme harm to the patient. Most patients pass away from these tumors 12 to 15 months after first diagnosis (https://ibn.fm/4Qrgy) and only 10 percent reach a five-year survival.
Because of glioblastoma’s recognition as an unmet medical need — a currently incurable illness, or one with very ineffective treatments — the field of research to combat it has been competitive. Most recently, investigators at Tel Aviv University (“TAU”) reported success at starving the brain tumors in mice by dealing with the cells surrounding the tumors (https://ibn.fm/nWzO6), with implications for other drug products that might potentially be used against GBM.
Biopharmaceutical innovator CNS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNSP) is currently conducting a potentially pivotal global Phase 2 clinical trial in humans to test the effectiveness of its anti-GBM drug candidate — Berubicin — after Berubicin testing resulted in a notable success with evidence of improved survival among a dozen safety trial participants recruited by drug’s original developer over 15 years ago.
One patient had a cancer-free response and continues to survive, another experienced a partial response that lasted for 12 weeks and nine patients experienced a stable disease response for over six weeks (https://ibn.fm/wVPVx).
The current clinical trial is enrolling patients in up to 54 sites selected in the United States, Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland to compare Berubicin’s response against the standard-of-care chemotherapy agent Lomustine. Twenty-three of those sites are open and operating already.
CNS Pharmaceutical recently held its annual stockholder meeting to re-elect officers and conduct other business (https://ibn.fm/sCWx3), following on the company’s announcement of its Q2 performance that showed a general reduction of expenses thanks largely to drug development timing (https://ibn.fm/r2qFY).
Among other news in CNS Pharmaceutical’s report, the company indicated its secondary drug portfolio WP1244 — an anthracycline-based substance that is being evaluated for treatment of brain cancers, pancreatic, ovarian, and lymphomas — has produced a new derivative identified as WP1874 with enhanced solubility compared to WP1244.
“Going forward, WP1874 will be the primary focus in our development efforts of the WP1244 portfolio,” the company stated. “CNS Pharmaceuticals is also evaluating the use of WP1244/WP1874 in the treatment of other primary brain and central nervous system cancers, as well as cancers metastatic to the brain including pancreatic, ovarian, and lymphomas.”
CNS anticipates filing for Investigational New Drug (“IND”) recognition for WP1874 in the coming year. Berubicin has already been granted Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.CNSPharma.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNSP are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP
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