Arix Bioscience hails positive clinical data from Aura Bioscience
, the biotech venture capital company, hailed positive phase 1b/2 clinical data that came out of its portfolio company, Aura Biosciences on Wednesday.
The data showed that multiple applications of Aura’s light-activated AU-011 treatment was well tolerated in a clinical trial evaluating the product’s safety and efficacy.
“If approved, AU-011 represents the first potential new treatment for choroidal melanoma in several decades.” said Jay S. Duker, M.D., Director New England Eye Center, and Professor and Chair, Tufts Medical Center.
Cadmus Rich, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development of Aura Biosciences added: “With its ability to provide tumor control and vision preservation, AU-011 holds significant potential as a new targeted therapy for the primary treatment of choroidal melanoma,”
Choroidal melanoma is a rare and aggressive type of eye cancer, and AU-011 has been granted orphan drug and fast track designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
New US FDA policies have been pushing for new drug approvals, which has resulted in a record 59 new novel drug approvals in 2018, 63% of which originated from smaller biopharma companies.
AU-011 is being developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health under Aura Bioscience’s lead programme.
The therapy consists of proprietary viral-like particle bioconjugates (VPB) that are activated with an ophthalmic laser, and can be delivered using equipment commonly found in an ophthalmologist’s office, and does not require a surgical procedure.
Arix’s investment portfolio currently has 17 companies at various stages of development, covering a variety of therapeutic areas.
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