Australian clinical-stage drug development company Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) has announced that its DARRT-2 Phase 2 clinical trial has commenced with patient enrolment in the US.
DARRT (Direct and Abscopal Response to Radiotherapy) is an experimental immunotherapy cancer treatment based on the concept of Veyonda combining with a well-tolerated, low dosage of external beam radiotherapy to trigger an immune response, leading to the resolution of some or all tumours in the body. This form of immune response is known as an abscopal response.
<p">Noxopharm said it believes that DARRT-treatment has the potential to positively impact cancer treatment by achieving cancer reduction through the abscopal response without many of the unwanted side-effects, cost-limitations, and logistical challenges associated with other immunotherapies.
With low-dose (palliative) radiotherapy being a common form of therapy used in cancer care, the therapeutic and commercial opportunities of adding Veyonda to transform symptomatic relief into a meaningful tumour response are substantial.
Noxopharm chief medical officer Dr Gisela Mautner said, “The participation of prestigious institutions with their highly experienced radiation and medical oncologists is testament to the interest in and potential of the DARRT-treatment.
The company said more sites will come online progressively over the next few months and accelerate patient recruitment.