TransCode Therapeutics Announces Publication of New Data Supporting the Use of TTX-MC138 for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer

BOSTON, June 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAZ), the RNA oncology company committed to more effectively treating cancer using RNA therapeutics, announced today publication of new data relevant to its lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The abstract, published in the June 1 supplemental issue of the journal, was presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

The study shows that inhibition of microRNA-10b, the therapeutic target of TTX-MC138, in breast cancer cells impaired the capacity of cancer stem cells to create new tumors and become metastatic. TransCode believes that these findings are important because cancer stem cells have long been known to play a critical role in cancer initiation, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to therapy. Therefore, inhibiting the tumor-promoting capacity of these cells using TTX-MC138 could improve outcomes in patients with breast cancer that is recurrent and resistant to treatment.

TTX-MC138 is designed to inhibit the oncogenic RNA, microRNA-10b, described as the master regulator of cancer progression in a number of advanced solid tumors, including breast cancer. TransCode believes that TTX-MC138 could be used as a treatment for many of these cancers. In a preclinical model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, administration of TTX-MC138 as monotherapy resulted in complete responses, manifested as regression without recurrence, in 40% of treated animals. This study comes on the heels of preclinical studies in human breast cancer in animals demonstrating complete regressions of metastatic disease. In addition to murine models of cancer, TTX-MC138 was successfully delivered and demonstrated preliminary efficacy in a case study of spontaneous feline mammary carcinoma.

TransCode Therapeutics recently received FDA and IRB approval for a first-in-human clinical trial with TTX-MC138 in patients with advanced solid cancers. In this clinical trial, up to 12 patients will be given a single dose of radiolabeled TTX-MC138 followed by noninvasive positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI). The trial is intended to quantify the amount of TTX-MC138 delivered to metastatic lesions and the pharmacokinetics of the therapeutic candidate in cancer patients. The trial could yield critical data regarding therapeutic dose, timing, and potential safety that could inform later stage clinical trials and further advance TTX-MC138 as a therapeutic candidate against glioblastoma and other advanced malignancies. This trial is not intended to demonstrate any therapeutic effect.