CLINICAL Pipeline

The Potential of Theralase®'s Anti-Cancer Therapy ("ACT")

The Potential of Theralase®'s Anti-Cancer Therapy ("ACT")

Theralase’s® lead Photo Dynamic Compound ("PDC"), TLD-1433, is an exciting new drug candidate for the treatment for NMIBC and has been proven to be safe and effective in a Phase Ib clinical study in the safe and effective treatment of NMIBC. TLD-1433 has shown early promise for various cancers in pre-clinical investigations such as: Glio Blastoma Multiforme (“GBM”), (a deadly form of brain cancer) and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (“NSCLC”), the leading cause of cancer death.

The principal focus of Theralase®'s ACT division is oncology through research and development of our lead PDC, TLD-1433, and associated drug formulations.

Once the majority of the planned 15 clinical study sites are launched, enrolling and treating patients is the pivotal Phase II NMIBC clinical study (“Study II”), Theralase® plans to commence a new human clinical study and is currently researching and developing the next cancer indications using Rutherrin®, a proprietary formulation of the lead PDC TLD-1433, combined with transferrin.

Discovery Preclinical Phase I Phase II Phase III
TLD-1433 (Intravesical Photodynamic Therapy Platform Technology) - Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC)
Pivotal Phase II Clinical Study
Rutherrin ® (Enhanced Radiation Therapy Platform Technology or Technology for Innovation in Radiation Oncology) – Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)
Late Preclinical Stage
Rutherrin ® (Enhanced Radiation Therapy Platform Technology or Technology for Innovation in Radiation Oncology) – Non-Small Cells Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Late Preclinical Stage
RuVaCare(V)® (Anti-Pathogen Platform Technology)- SARS - CoV-2 - COVID-19
Preclinical Stage
ABOUT

Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer ("NMIBC")

In 2019, an estimated 80,470 adults (61,700 men and 18,770 women) were diagnosed with bladder cancer in the United States.

Among men, bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer.

It is estimated that 17,670 deaths (12,870 men and 4,800 women) from this disease will occur in 2019.

Among men, bladder cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer death.1

The bladder cancer market is expected to triple in size to around $1.1 billion in 2025.2

 Theralase®is currently evaluating the lead PDC, TLD-1433 in a pivotal clinical study, Study II.

NMIBC is an urgent and highly unmet medical need; therefore, Theralase® should not be required to conduct a Phase III clinical study, if successful, only Phase IV post-approval monitoring.

If Theralase® can demonstrate strong safety and efficacy results in Study II, similar to Study I,  the data analysis should support an application for market commercialization and become the next gold standard treatment for patients diagnosed with NMIBC.

A list of select scientific publications that give a robust overview of the effects of TLD-1433 and Rutherrin® seen in pre-clinical and clinical studies is provided in our Research section.

Research Publications


ABOUT

GlioBlastoma Multiforme ("GBM")

There are an estimated 24,000 new cases of malignant gliomas diagnosed in the US annually, with more than 14,000 deaths.

In the majority of cases, they recur following initial treatment, especially for GBM, the most common and lethal form of brain cancer.

Most patients do not survive beyond 2 years, post diagnosis.3

TLD-1433 continues to advance preclinically and clinically in the destruction of new oncology targets.

In preclinical trials, TLD-1433, when activated by radiation therapy has been demonstrated to be effective in the destruction of human GBM cancer cells.

In a 2017, Company news release, Dr. Pavel Kaspler, PhD, Theralase® Research Scientist stated that, “Radiation therapy followed by NIR laser light activation of TLD-1433 is a new and unexpected discovery by the members of our research team under the leadership of Dr. Arkady Mandel and Dr. Lothar Lilge. This discovery has far reaching implications, including: targeting cancers that are difficult, if not impossible to reach with conventional laser light sources, such as GBM brain tumours or deep tissue related cancers.”

Advantages of TLD-1433:

  1. Stable under radiation activation remains able to produce Reactive Oxygen Species ("ROS") via subsequent Near Infrared ("NIR") laser light activation
  2. Able to be activated by radiation eliciting a PDT-like cell kill
  3. Able to be dually activated (radiation followed by NIR laser) delivering a cell kill greater than the two technologies applied separately
  4. Able to destroy cancer cells predominantly via Immunogenic Cell Death ("ICD") at 24 hours post treatment.
  5. Able to deliver noticeable damage to tumours when radiation activated
  6. Able to deliver significant tumour damage when dually activated (radiation followed by NIR laser) in the presence of transferrin

A list of select scientific publications that give a robust overview of the effects of TLD-1433 and Rutherrin® seen in preclinical and clinical models is provided in our Research section.

Research Publications
ABOUT

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer ("NSCLC")

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women.

Out of all types of lung cancer, NSCLC accounts for 80 to 85% of cases.4

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for lung cancer in the United States for 2020 are:

  • About 228,820 new cases of lung cancer (116,300 in men and 112,520 in women)
  • About 135,720 deaths from lung cancer (72,500 in men and 63,220 in women)5

Each type of NSCLC has different kinds of cancer cells. The cancer cells of each type grow and spread in different ways. The types of NSCLC are named for the kinds of cells found in the cancer and how the cells look under a microscope:

  1. Squamous cell carcinoma:Cancer that begins in squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells that look like fish scales, also called epidermoid carcinoma.
  2. Large cell carcinoma: Cancer that may begin in several types of large cells.
  3. Adenocarcinoma:Cancer that begins in the cells that line the alveoli and produce substances such as mucus.

In preclinical experimentation by Theralase®, an evaluation of the Transferrin Receptors (“TfRs”) by flow cytometry analysis in three human cancer cell lines; specifically: H2170 (lung squamous cell carcinoma), H460 (large cell lung cancer carcinoma) and A549 (lung adeno carcinoma) showed almost 100% of lung cancer cells express TfRs.

The preclinical in-vitro and in-vivo data demonstrates that Rutherrin® based therapy may be highly effective in the selective destruction of lung cancer tumours, with no impact to healthy tissue.

A list of scientific publications that give an overview of the effects of TLD-1433 and Rutherrin® seen in pre-clinical and clinical models is provided in our Research area.

Research publications


ABOUT

Additional Virus Targets - SARS - CoV-2 - COVID-19

Theralase® executed a Sponsored Research Agreement (“SRA”) with the University of Manitoba (“UM”) Medical Microbiology department in 3Q2020 to commence development of a coronavirus vaccine utilizing Theralase®’s patented and proprietary PDCs. The primary objective of the SRA was to investigate the efficacy of Theralase®’s lead PDC to destroy a variety of viruses; including: H1N1 Influenza, Zika and coronaviruses (Biological Safety Level (“BSL”) 2). The secondary objective was to optimize the concentration of PDC required, the activation methodology and how to potentially administer the treatment to humans to be used as a vaccine (prevention of a patient from contracting COVID-19) (BSL-3).

The Company’s PDC technology was effective in the destruction of Influenza and Zika viruses at low nanomolar concentrations and were expanded to include coronavirus (BSL-2).

In April 2021, Theralase® executed a Collaborative Research Agreement (“CRA”) with the National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada (“PHAC”) for the research and development of a Canadian-based SARS-CoV-2 (“COVID-19”) vaccine. Under the terms of the agreement, Theralase® and PHAC are collaborating on the development and optimization of a Theralase® COVID-19 vaccine by treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus grown on cell lines with Theralase®’s patented PDC and then light activating it with Theralase®’s proprietary TLC-3000A light technology to inactivate the virus and create the fundamental building blocks of a COVID-19 vaccine. This inactivated virus would then be purified and used to inoculate naive animals followed by challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to ascertain the efficacy of the vaccine. The project is entitled, “Photo Dynamic Compound Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine” and commenced in mid-April 2021.

Research Publications

Source(s):

Cancer Facts and Figures 2019. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/cancer-facts-figures-2019.html. Accessed January 14, 2019.

Bladder cancer market size to more than triple to over $1.1 billion by 2025. (2017). Retrieved 14 August 2019, from https://www.globaldata.com/bladder-cancer-market-size-triple-1-1-billion-2025/

3 Foreman, P.M., Friedman, G.K., Cassady, K.A. et al. Oncolytic Virotherapy for the Treatment of Malignant Glioma. Neurotherapeutics 14, 333–344 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-017-0516-0

4 Bareschino, M. A., Schettino, C., Rossi, A., Maione, P., Sacco, P. C., Zeppa, R., & Gridelli, C. (2011). Treatment of advanced non small cell lung cancer. Journal of thoracic disease, 3(2), 122–133. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2010.12.08

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