Lantheus Enters into Strategic Collaboration with CarThera for Use of Microbubbles in Combination with SonoCloud System for Treatment of Glioblastoma - Seite 2

CarThera’s SonoCloud-9 System is currently being evaluated in a Phase IIa clinical trial with a Phase IIb/III pivotal clinical trial to follow. The objective of this trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of repeated opening of the blood brain barrier using the SonoCloud-9, its next-generation implantable ultrasound device designed to cover the entire tumor and surrounding infiltrative areas. Twenty-one patients will undergo repeated blood brain barrier opening with the SonoCloud-9 prior to infusion of carboplatin at clinical sites in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Angers) and the United-States (MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago).

About Glioblastoma

Roughly 12,000 people are diagnosed per year with glioblastoma in the U.S.⁴, and incidence is growing more than 1% per year⁵. Worldwide, annual incidence is as high as 5 in 100,000 people, and roughly 225,000 people die from the disease each year.⁶

The first line treatment for most glioblastoma patients is surgical resection of the tumor. After a healing period from surgery, patients will then typically undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment cycles.² The main goal of surgery is to remove as much GBM tumor as possible without impacting surrounding normal brain tissue that is critical for normal neurological function (such as motor skills, speaking and walking ability, etc.). However, GBMs are commonly surrounded by a reservoir of migrating, infiltrating tumor cells that invade surrounding tissue, making it virtually impossible to remove the cancer entirely. Surgery does help to reduce the amount of solid tumor tissue within the brain and thus can reduce intracranial pressure. The surgical debulking of tumor can prolong life and improve the quality of life for patients.² The treatment of this region surrounding the tumor using chemotherapy is challenging due to the limited penetration of agents into the brain owing to the highly protective blood-brain barrier, a layer of specialized endothelial cells. Research has shown the blood-brain barrier can be accessed using ultrasound in combination with systemic injection of an ultrasonically resonated microbubble.