TransCode Therapeutics Announces Prolonged Survival in Murine Models with Glioblastoma Treated with Its Lead Candidate, TTX-MC138

Suggests potential to improve survival outcomes in patients with GBM

BOSTON, Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAZ), the RNA oncology company committed to more effectively treating cancer using RNA therapeutics, today announced significantly improved survival in murine models bearing human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumors treated with its lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138. In this study, mice implanted with human GBM tumors treated with TTX-MC138 survived significantly longer than those in the control group.

GBM is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults and has the highest mortality rate among all brain malignancies. In this study reported by TransCode, one group of mice implanted with human GBM tumors was treated with TTX-MC138 as an alternative to the standard-of-care chemotherapy, temozolomide (TMZ). TMZ is the primary chemotherapy used for GBM. However, TMZ resistance is common in GBM and is a major contributor to the high rates of mortality with this disease. In the study, animals were treated weekly via systemic injection for six weeks with either TTX-MC138 or TMZ. Animals treated with TTX-MC138 survived significantly longer than the controls. Specifically, at 50 days after initiation of treatment, 75% of mice treated with TTX-MC138 were alive versus 25% of controls.

TransCode’s Chief Technology Officer, Zdravka Medarova, PhD, commented, “We believe these promising results with TTX-MC138 suggest the potential to improve survival outcomes in patients with GBM. Importantly, we believe that TTX-MC138 could be an alternative treatment in cases where resistance to standard-of-care chemotherapy has occurred.”

TTX-MC138 consists of an iron oxide nanocarrier conjugated to a nucleic acid designed to inhibit the oncogenic RNA, microRNA-10b. MiRNA-10b is described as the master regulator of cancer progression in a number of advanced solid tumors, including GBM. TransCode believes that TTX-MC138 could be used as a treatment for many of these cancers. Administration of TTX-MC138 has resulted in complete regression of metastatic disease in numerous mouse models of pancreatic and breast cancer. In addition to murine models of cancer, TTX-MC138 was successfully delivered and demonstrated preliminary efficacy in spontaneous feline mammary carcinoma.