RE:RE:RE:RE:Theralase Is still Flying Under the RadarEoganacht wrote: To be fair to Dr. Kamat, his role as a member of Theralase's Medical and Scientific Advisory Board is not to promote the adoption of TLD1433 pdt or to make public pronouncements about it. Rather, as he himself stated, when he joined the board in 2014:
"My role will be to provide the clinical expertise and to work with my fellow MSAB members to develop a clinical protocol for Theralase’s trials in the treatment of bladder cancer."
Roger Dumoulin-White said about him:
"His work in this field and his experience and knowledge in all things related to bladder cancer, especially his expertise in the Bacillus Calmette–Gurin (“BCG”) related field will only help to strengthen an already excellent team. His expertise encompasses “BCG failure” disease, which plagues a large percentage of the bladder cancer patients worldwide and to which Theralase’s intervention is aimed at."
Dr. Kamat is there to advise Theralase how to navigate the waters of bladder cancer clinical trials from inception to commercialization. His professional goal above and beyond his advisory role at Theralse is to help provide bladder cancer patients with the best possible treatments for their condition. The fact that a person of his impeccable credentials and reputation chose to help Theralase bring a cancer drug to market says a lot for our prospects.
Despite the fact that he helped big pharma's Keytruda attain FDA approval for NMIBC he has not hesitated to state publicly that, based on the data, intravesical solutions may be a better solution for patients. The fact that in his recent remarks he did not mention TLD1433 can only mean that it is not yet in the interest of patients to mention it. We're simply not there yet.
Just to illustrate what a stellar reputation Dr. Kamat has:
Ashish Kamat, M.D.
"Dr. Kamat has been named by Expertscape as the world’s the top-rated expert in urinary bladder neoplasms. Dr. Kamat has extensive experience with cystoscopic procedures, has been a principal investigator for multiple oncology and urology clinical studies for both drugs and devices, and has been involved in blue light cystoscopy studies since 2007. Dr. Kamat is an Endowed Professor of Urologic Oncology and Cancer Research at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC); Associate Cancer Center Director, RFHNH in Mumbai, and President of International Bladder Cancer Group (IBCG) and International Bladder Cancer Network (IBCN). He is Associate Editor for European Urology Oncology, directed the MDACC Urologic Oncology Fellowship from 2005-2016, and is an alumnus of the American Urological Association Leadership Program. Dr. Kamat received his medical degree at the University of Bombay, India’s Seth G. S. Medical College & King Edward Memorial Hospital and completed a fellowship in Urologic Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kamat focuses on bladder cancer, immunotherapy and organ sparing therapies. He has led several national and international studies, which have been reported in high impact journals. Dr. Kamat has over 300 publications, is listed in ‘Who’s Who in Medicine’ and ‘Best Doctors in America’, and has won the ‘Compassionate Doctor Award’ from patient groups.
https://imaginmedical.com/medical-advisors/
Infinity wrote: I agree Yajne, Dr. Kamat is on the Medical Advisory board in name only. I have not come across any mention of TLD 1433 other than "it might be just what the doctor ordered". I wonder if the members of the Medical Advisory board, even remotely, have any skin in the game?
A look at the performance of these new kids on the block: 12 month CR data for BCG-unresponsive CIS....
Nadofaragene Firadenovec = 24%
N-803 + BCG = 40%
CG0070 (as a single-agent therapeutic) = 27.5%
*All of the above are intravesical agents.
Both patients & the FDA will have a difficult time overlooking the fact that we are a diamond in the rough...a relatively rare & precious single-agent commodity that's administered intravesically in only 2 doses. Assuming we have comparable/superior efficacy & continued low toxicity, the treatment burden, financial toxicity & patient preference will also have a big say in the clinic. The simple logistics alone of patients & docs fully complying with our competitors' more complex treatment schedules could dissuade many from participating...but they need to know there's another/simpler option.
With more promising data & a BTD in hand, hopefully Dr. Kamat & other influencers will spread the word just as strongly as they have in the past with other promising immunotherapeutics. We shall see...