's (CVE:TLT, OTCMKTS:TLTFF) lead anti-cancer drug, TLD-1433, has been independently verified and validated in a peer-reviewed medical science publication.
A detailed computational investigation by Marta Alberto and co-workers, entitled "Theoretical Exploration of Type I/Type II Dual Photoreactivity of Promising Ru (II) Dyads for PDT Approach", appeared in the peer-reviewed American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Inorganic Chemistry.
It independently verified and validated the unique photophysical properties of Theralase's lead photo dynamic compound (PDC), TLD-1433 and associated family of compounds.
The computational study detailed how Dr Sherri McFarland, who is collaborating with Theralase, has pioneered the use of specialized excited states for dual-mode Type I (oxygen independent) / II (oxygen dependent) photoreactivity as a means of creating novel classes of super-potent PDCs. It mechanically validated McFarland's experimental findings with regard to Type I/II dual-mode photo dynamic therapy (PDT) effects and highly specialized excited states.
The most advanced PDC, TLD-1433, developed by McFarland and Theralase, has successfully achieved the primary, secondary and exploratory endpoints in the first part of a Phase 1b human clinical trial, at the maximum recommended starting dose, in the first three patients treated for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).
The study validated some theoretical assumptions
The study highlighted the ability of TLD-1433, and its associated family of PDCs, to invoke PDT effects even at low oxygen concentrations by exploiting multiple PDT pathways and further validated, on a very sophisticated level, the criteria McFarland previously outlined for producing these unique effects, Theralase reported.
The unprecedented PDT potencies and unique dual-mode mechanisms of the McFarland-Theralase PDCs are well positioned to finally bring PDT to the forefront of cancer therapy, it added.
Currently, McFarland and Theralase are working on introducing PDC “supercatalysts”, which maintain dual-mode Type I/II photoreactivity and produce femtomolar (a measure of substance concentration) PDT effects with no sacrificial co-catalysts.
These first-of-their-kind PDCs exploit the fundamental principles of photophysics and supercatalysis to achieve extraordinarily large therapeutic effects, Theralase declared.
In comparative analysis evaluations completed by McFarland, the Theralase PDCs are roughly a billion times more potent than a commonly used anti-cancer chemotherapy drug, Cisplatin, when laser light activated.
Theralase's PDCs could be a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer
Theralase and McFarland firmly believe that these PDCs and the laser light systems used to activate them are the future of PDT in the destruction of cancer.
“The orthogonal third-party study on TLD-1433 and related PDCs computationally validates the structure-activity relationships that we have already determined experimentally, providing theoretical support for the potent Type I/II dual-mode PDT effects that are now being realized with success in patients with NMIBC as part of the Phase Ib clinical trial," said Sherri McFarland, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Theralase's chief scientific officer, Arkady Mandel, MD, PhD, D.Sc., said the study confirmed that “TLD-1433, and its associated family of PDCs, are world-class anti-cancer drugs”.
Roger Dumoulin-White, president and chief executive officer of Theralase, said: "The PDCs that Theralase and McFarland have researched and developed have proven to be very strong anti-cancer drugs in initial clinical studies. We look forward to successfully expanding the platform of PDCs, and the laser light systems that activate them, for various clinical oncology applications, as our clinical program matures."
Shares in Theralase were up 4.1% at C$0.51.