TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Institutes of Healthβs National Cancer Institute (NCI) has
awarded a grant for up to $3 million to NuvOx Pharma to initiate a Phase
II clinical trial for the investigational drug, NVX-108, in the brain
cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). NVX-108 is an injectable drug
that travels through the bloodstream, arriving first at the lungs to
pick up oxygen and finally to hypoxic tissue, where it passively
delivers the oxygen. It is designed to reduce tumor hypoxia in order to
make tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
The clinical trialβs principal investigator, Baldassarre Stea, M.D.,
Ph.D., said, βTumor hypoxia is known to be a problem in many tumor
types, including GBM. Hypoxic tumors are resistant to radiation therapy
and certain kinds of chemotherapy. By increasing tumor oxygen levels,
NVX-108 is designed to improve the effectiveness of these therapies in
order to kill cancer cells more effectively and increase patient
survival. Clinical trials are needed to see if NVX-108 can become
approved by regulators.β NVX-108 completed a Phase Ib/II clinical trial
in GBM in Australia. The drug showed safety and reversed tumor hypoxia
on an MRI biomarker imaging study. In this open label study, patients
have survived longer than historical control.
The grant is the third in a series of Small Business Innovation and
Research (SBIR) grants from the NCI to NuvOx Pharma, and is specifically
designed to incentivize partnerships between grant funded companies and
third-party investors and/or strategic partners by matching funds from
these sources. The award grants $1 million this year and recommends $2
million over the following two years subject to the availability of
funds and satisfactory progress of the project.
Disclaimer: This research is supported by the NCI under Award Number
R44CA144817. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and
does not necessarily represent the official views of the National
Institutes of Health. Certain statements in this release may constitute
βforward-looking statements.β Actual events or results may differ
substantially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing us. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of future events, new information, or
otherwise.
Contacts
NuvOx Pharma
John McGonigle
