BERLIN, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ariceum Therapeutics, a private biotech company developing radiopharmaceutical products for the diagnosis and treatment of certain hard-to-treat cancers, today announces it has submitted an application with the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to undertake a Phase 1 trial of 123I-ATT001, its Iodine-123 labelled PARP inhibitor in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.
The application comes shortly after Ariceum acquired Theragnostics Ltd, announced in June 2023, the private UK-based biopharmaceutical company which undertook the initial development work on 123I-ATT001. Ariceum is the first company to sponsor a clinical trial of Auger therapy for recurrent glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Manfred Rüdiger, Chief Executive Officer of Ariceum Therapeutics said: “Glioblastoma is the most aggressive and most common type of malignant brain tumour in adults, with a very poor prognosis for survival and currently no cure. 123I-ATT001 is a targeted Auger electron therapy that has demonstrated promising pre-clinical results, and we are delighted to be in a position to file for clinical trial authorisation in the UK so soon after integrating Theragnostics into Ariceum Therapeutics. Not only is this an important step towards finding a cure for glioblastoma patients but it paves the way for Ariceum to further investigate this powerful molecular radiotherapy for the treatment of other solid tumour indications.”
ATT001 delivers its radioisotope payload, Iodine-123, in a highly targeted way to cancer cells expressing PARP, an enzyme they use to repair themselves. This radioisotope then emits low energy Auger electrons, which deposit their energy over short distances, making them particularly useful for causing lethal damage to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. An additional benefit of using Iodine-123 is that this isotope is more widely available than others, being produced in a regular cyclotron.
Ariceum is exploring 123I-ATT001 in other solid tumour indications, as PARP is a validated target, highly expressed in several other cancers.
The announcement comes as Manfred Rüdiger, Chief Executive Officer of Ariceum Therapeutics, is in San Francisco attending the Biotech Showcase from 8-10 January 2024. Please get in touch if you would like to arrange a meeting.
Notes to Editors
About Ariceum Therapeutics
Ariceum Therapeutics (Ariceum) is a private, clinical stage radiopharmaceutical company focused on the diagnosis and precision treatment of certain neuroendocrine and other aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers. The name Ariceum is an anagram of ‘Marie Curie’ whose discovery of radium and polonium have been huge contributions to finding treatments for cancer.
Ariceum’s lead targeted systemic radiopharmaceutical product, 177Lu-satoreotide tetraxetan (“satoreotide”), is an antagonist of the somatostatin type 2 (SSTR2) receptor which is overexpressed in neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and some aggressive cancers such as small cell lung cancer (SCLC), or Merkel Cell Carcinoma, all of which have few treatment options and poor prognosis. Satoreotide is being developed as a ‘theranostic’ pair for the combined diagnosis and targeted radionuclide treatment of these tumours. Ariceum is also developing a radiolabelled PARP-inhibitor (ATT-001), which is slated to enter clinical development in 2024. ATT-001 was part of the acquisition of Theragnostics Ltd which was closed in June 2023.
Ariceum Therapeutics, launched in 2021, acquired all rights from Ipsen. Ipsen remains a shareholder in the Company. Ariceum is headquartered in Berlin, with operations in Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Switzerland and activities currently across the globe.
Ariceum is led by a highly experienced management team and supported by specialist investors including EQT Life Sciences (formerly LSP), HealthCap, Pureos Bioventures, Andera Partners and Earlybird Venture Capital. For further information, please visit www.ariceum-therapeutics.com.
SOURCE Ariceum Therapeutics