Plus Therapeutics Receives $3 Million Award Recommendation from the United States Department of Defense

Plus now has $23 million in active awards support for the Company’s targeted radiotherapeutic pipeline

Funding for pediatric brain cancer treatment is expected to begin in Q3 2024, pending contract finalization

AUSTIN, Texas, April 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTV) (the “Company”), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing targeted radiotherapeutics with advanced platform technologies for central nervous system (CNS) cancers, today announced it has been selected for funding by the Department of Defense (DoD) office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The award is expected to commence in Q3 2024 and will support the planned expansion of the Company’s clinical trial for pediatric brain cancer.

“This recent award further extends our current cash runway in the second half of 2025, while supporting the 2024 expansion of our clinical development activities,” said Marc H. Hedrick, M.D., President & CEO of Plus Therapeutics. “In 2023, the Company applied for approximately $7 million in grant funding, and we plan to file for more than $10 million in funding in 2024.”

About the DoD Grant Program
The DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Advancing Cancer Care through Clinical Trials Award will be utilized to fund a Phase 1 dose escalation trial to address the FY23 PRCRP Topic Area of Pediatric Brain Tumors. This study will investigate a novel therapeutic, Rhenium (¹⁸⁶Re) Obisbemeda (¹⁸⁶RNL), delivered by Convection Enhanced Delivery (CED), for the treatment of supratentorial recurrent, refractory, or progressive pediatric high-grade glioma (HGG) and ependymoma. It is expected to begin enrollment in the second half of 2024.

About Rhenium (¹⁸⁶Re) obisbemeda
Rhenium (¹⁸⁶Re) obisbemeda is a novel injectable radiotherapy specifically formulated to deliver direct targeted high dose radiation in CNS tumors in a safe, effective, and convenient manner to optimize patient outcomes. Rhenium (¹⁸⁶Re) obisbemeda has the potential to reduce off target risks and improve outcomes for CNS cancer patients, versus currently approved therapies, with a more targeted and potent radiation dose. Rhenium-186 is an ideal radioisotope for CNS therapeutic applications due to its short half-life, beta energy for destroying cancerous tissue, and gamma energy for real-time imaging. Rhenium (¹⁸⁶Re) obisbemeda is being evaluated for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma and leptomeningeal metastases in the ReSPECT-GBM and ReSPECT-LM clinical trials. ReSPECT-GBM is supported by an award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and ReSPECT-LM is funded by a three-year $17.6M grant by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).