Cancer Targeted Technology (CTT), a privately-held Seattle-based biotechnology firm focusing on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, announced that the National Cancer Institute exercised the $2M Phase II option of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I/II fast-track $2.3M contract to develop a new agent to treat metastatic prostate cancer. The contract develops a promising unique radiotherapeutic drug, CTT1403, that targets Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA). PSMA is over-expressed on prostate cancer and expression increases as the cancer metastasizes and becomes castrate-resistant. CTT’s unique phosphoramidate-based agents, bind irreversibly to PSMA and unlike other agents targeting PSMA, this distinctive mode of binding enhances uptake and internalization by tumor cells leading to increased accumulation of the therapeutic payload and improved efficacy.
In the Phase I $300K portion of the contract, conducted earlier in 2016, CTT successfully synthesized, tested and identified its lead drug, CTT1403. In addition to the PSMA targeting core, CTT1403 incorporates a chemical motif to increase circulation time, increase tumor uptake and decrease any binding to normal tissues. CTT1403, labeled with lutetium-177, demonstrated excellent circulation times in animal studies and cured 75% of mice implanted with human prostate tumors. CTT is working with Carolyn Anderson, M.D., professor of medicine, at University of Pittsburgh, to evaluate CTT1403 in mouse models of prostate cancer.
Anderson commented: "We are excited to continue our collaboration with CTT. The data from the first phase of the contract are promising, and we look forward to furthering this investigation to translate CTT1403 into human studies.”
The Phase II $2M portion advances CTT1403 into Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies, including manufacturing, additional pharmacology and safety assessments. These IND studies will support the initial clinical trial in metastatic prostate cancer. CTT’s strategic plan to identify, target, treat and monitor metastatic prostate cancer, employs CTT1403 as a companion therapeutic agent to CTT’s diagnostic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) agent, CTT1057, that commenced clinical trials in November 2016 to image metastatic sites in patients with prostate cancer.
“We have rationally designed CTT1403 to maximize tumor uptake, while minimizing side effects, and the drug is demonstrating exceptional targeting to prostate tumors in animal models,” stated Beatrice Langton-Webster, Ph.D., CEO of CTT and Principal Investigator on the contract. “We were very excited to see substantial increases in survival times in mice implanted with human prostate tumors. CTT1403 holds great promise as a treatment that will result in meaningful increases in life expectancy for men suffering from prostate cancer.”
For more information: www.cancertargetedtechnology.com/
April 10, 2024 
