Clinical Trials

Date: 2016-02-25

Type of information: Publication of results in a medical journal

phase: preclinical

Announcement: publication of results in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery

Company: Blaze Biosciences (USA - WA)

Product: BLZ-100 - chlorotoxin conjugated to indocyanine green dye

Action mechanism:

peptide. BLZ-100 is the first product candidate from Blaze’s Tumor Paint platform and consists of an optimized peptide, which binds and internalizes into cancer cells, and a fluorescent dye, which emits light in the near-infrared range. Tumor Paint products are designed to provide real-time, high-resolution intraoperative visualization of cancer cells, enabling more precise, complete resection of cancer throughout surgery. Preclinical utility of Tumor Paint technology has been demonstrated in a wide range of cancer types, including brain, lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal.

Disease: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology

Country:

Trial details:

Latest news:

• On February 25, 2016, Blaze Bioscience announced the publication of a manuscript in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery describing the sensitivity and specificity of Tumor Paint BLZ-100 as a marker of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in animal models.
Tumor Paint BLZ-100 uptake was tested in models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and dysplasia. BLZ-100 demonstrated highly sensitive and specific uptake in HNSCC tumor xenografts. Additionally, BLZ-100 uptake increased with the severity of dysplasia and distinguished between high- and low-risk dysplasia indicating that clinically, BLZ-100 may be useful in sparing unnecessary biopsies or, alternatively, prompting necessary surgery. “This study establishes a further potential application of Tumor Paint BLZ-100 in the surgical and surveillance setting,” said Julie Novak, Blaze Bioscience VP of Research and co-author of the manuscript. “Precision is important in head and neck cancer because sparing normal tissue can help preserve the patient’s appearance and functions such as speech and swallowing.”
The article entitled “Fluorescence Identification of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma and High-Risk Oral Dysplasia With BLZ-100, a Chlorotoxin-Indocyanine Green Conjugate” by Baik et al was co-authored by the teams at the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Blaze Bioscience.