TransCode Therapeutics Reports Successful Treatment of Preclinical Melanoma Tumors with its Immunotherapy Candidate, TTX-RIGA

Study showed a 70% Inhibition of Recurrent Tumor Growth

BOSTON, Oct. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNAZ), an RNA oncology company committed to more effectively treating cancer using RNA therapeutics, today reported successful treatment of preclinical melanoma tumors using its immunotherapy candidate, TTX-RIGA. The study showed a significant inhibition of tumor growth.

TTX-RIGA, an innovative immunotherapeutic candidate built around TransCode’s proprietary TTX delivery platform is designed to activate the immune system against tumor cells potentially resulting in effective treatment of multiple primary, metastatic, and recurrent cancers. TTX-RIGA is designed to work by binding to an intracellular receptor called RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene I). TransCode believes this could result in targeted activation of innate immunity in the tumor microenvironment. Recent developments in the use of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as RIG-I, aim to harness the innate power of the immune system to treat cancer. TransCode believes that understanding how to recruit PRRs, such as RIG-I, in a tumor-selective manner is critical for clinical applications.  

In a mouse model of melanoma, systemic injection of TTX-RIGA demonstrated that the therapeutic candidate was effective in reducing primary tumor growth. Remarkably, it also elicited an immune response against secondary recurrent tumors, inhibiting their growth by 70%. This stands in contrast to intratumorally-administered standard RIG-I activators, which have demonstrated efficacy confined to the primary tumor. TransCode’s approach is designed to achieve persistent cell-mediated immunity by targeted activation of innate immunity in cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment. TransCode believes that its approach helps establish RIG-I as a clinically relevant target in oncology for a variety of solid tumors including melanoma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), pancreatic, colorectal and breast cancer, and especially tumors that are prone to recurrence after initial treatment.

“The strategy we are employing with TTX-RIGA moves us closer to making this immunotherapeutic approach clinically relevant in oncology because it achieves targeted activation of innate immunity in the tumor microenvironment in the context of systemic agonist injection,” commented Zdravka Medarova, PhD, co-founder and CTO of TransCode. “As with prior studies, we believe the data from this animal study further support advancement of TTX-RIGA into clinical studies. The opportunity for systemic, yet tumor cell-selective, activation of innate immunity using our therapeutic design could represent an important step towards effective application of similar immunotherapeutic mechanisms for cancer therapy in the clinical setting.”