SOUTHLAKE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OncoNano Medicine, Inc. today announced positive interim clinical results from an ongoing Phase 2 study of its lead clinical development candidate, pegsitacianine, for the detection of residual disease following cytoreductive surgery (CRS). Study results were presented by Patrick Wagner, MD, Department of Surgical Oncology, Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, during an oral presentation at the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC) in Miami, FL on September 29th. The interim results from this trial provide evidence that pegsitacianine could offer surgeons a real-time optical imaging capability that enhances their ability to detect residual cancerous tissue that would otherwise be left behind from their standard of care process for cytoreductive surgery of peritoneal metastases.

“We are encouraged by the Phase 2 study results for pegsitacianine in the detection of residual disease for both mucinous and non-mucinous metastatic nodules across multiple cancer types and look forward to further exploring the clinical utility of this novel molecular imaging agent in cancer surgery,” said Patrick Wagner, MD, one of the lead investigators on the trial.

The Phase 2 study (NCT04950166) remains open to enrollment and is designed to evaluate the ability of pegsitacianine, a micellar fluorescence agent, to detect residual malignancies following CRS, an operation to completely resect peritoneal metastases. As an adjunct to tactile and visual cues for detecting residual disease, pegsitacianine may allow surgeons a more accurate evaluation of the completeness of surgery, or potentially to augment the results by removing additional lesions. A total of 27 patients were administered pegsitacianine at a dose of 1 mg/kg, proceeded to surgery with intra-operative imaging occurring between 24- and 72-hours post-dose, and completed pathology examination of resected specimens. The data presented revealed that 15 patients (55%) have demonstrated a clinically significant detection of pathology-confirmed residual disease following the completion of intended surgery. In this ongoing study, pegsitacianine continues to be well-tolerated with no observed drug-related serious adverse events. The most common adverse event observed with the use of pegsitacianine has been infusion-related reactions that have been mild to moderate and self-resolving.

About Pegsitacianine

Pegsitacianine is an intraoperative fluorescence imaging agent under development by OncoNano Medicine for the detection of cancerous tissue in patients undergoing surgical resection. Relying on an ultra pH-sensitive activation mechanism of OncoNano’s ON-BOARD™ platform, pegsitacianine exists in a fluorescently dark “Off” state at physiological pH but transitions rapidly to a fluorescently “On” state in the presence of the elevated acidic tumor microenvironment. Pegsitacianine’s unique mechanism of action provides it with the potential for intraoperative near infrared imaging across a variety of solid tumor types. Pegsitacianine has previously been studied in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials where breast, head and neck, colorectal, and esophageal cancers were successfully imaged following an intravenous dose of pegsitacianine.

About OncoNano Medicine

OncoNano Medicine is developing a new class of products that utilize principles of molecular cooperativity in their design to exploit pH as a biomarker to diagnose and treat cancer with high specificity. Our product candidates and interventions are designed to help patients across the continuum of cancer care and include solid tumor therapeutics, agents for real-time image guided surgery and a platform of immune-oncology therapeutics that activate and guide the body’s immune system to target cancer.

OncoNano’s lead development candidate is pegsitacianine, a novel fluorescent nanoprobe using the ONBOARD™ platform, that is currently under study in Phase 2 clinical trials as a real-time surgical imaging agent for use in multiple cancer surgeries. ONM-501, OncoNano’s second development program, is a next generation STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes) agonist that is advancing towards a first in human trial in the first half of 2023. Pegsitacianine and ONM-501 have been supported by grants received from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. Learn more at www.OncoNano.com.

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