On October 10, 2023 Zetagen Therapeutics, a private, clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company focused on driving breakthrough innovation in the treatment of metastatic cancers to bone and soft tissue organs as well as osteologic interventions, reported publication of early, human clinical data in the peer-reviewed journal Pain Management on ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) for the treatment bone metastases (Press release, Zetagen Therapeutics, OCT 10, 2023, View Source [SID1234647528]).
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This case study, entitled Treating Bone Metastases with Local Therapy in a Breast Cancer Patient Resulted in Decrease Pain and Prevented Fracture, demonstrated resolution of lytic lesions, significant reduction in pain and prevention of fracture in a patient living with Stage 4 breast cancer being treated with ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003).
To view the publication via open access, go to: View Source
ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) is a synthetic, small-molecule, inductive biologic technology being developed to target and resolve metastatic bone lesions while inhibiting future tumor growth and regenerating bone. The small molecule has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1971. Zetagen scientists have discovered an entirely new pathway for this established molecule which, if proven successful in human clinical trials, could create a new treatment paradigm for patients living with metastatic bone lesions and other osteologic conditions.
"Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time with this patient. I will always remember what she said to me: ‘thank you for giving me more time’," said Joe C. Loy, Chief Executive Officer of Zetagen Therapeutics. "We are grateful to have had the opportunity to provide ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) to this patient and we remain cautiously hopeful as we await results from our on-going Phase 2 clinical trial."
"We recognize that these results are from a single patient and are prudently hopeful for similar outcomes from our ongoing ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) clinical trial," said Bryan Margulies, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Zetagen Therapeutics. "I am encouraged that at the two-year time period this patient does not have active tumor at the treatment sites, and that the sacral lesion which was not treated with fractionated radiation completely resolved."
Lytic lesions can cause severe, debilitating pain in patients with advanced cancer. Patients with these lesions often experience a reduced quality of life with multiple skeletal-related events (SREs), including fractures, spinal cord compression, elevated levels of calcium in the blood or "hypercalcemia", bone marrow infiltration and severe bone pain.[i] Bone metastases are also a major cause for morbidity in patients with advanced stage cancer.[ii]
"We are inspired with these initial results and thankful this patient was able to experience such pain relief and avoid a skeletal related event (SRE)," said Nikhil Thakur, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Zetagen Therapeutics.
"The ease of administering of the ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) product, via a percutaneous outpatient procedure could benefit these very ill patients and accelerate physician adoption," said David Palma, MD, interventional radiologist administering the therapy in this case study.
Zetagen is focused on the more than 620,000 people in the United States, and more globally, living with metastatic cancers. This number is expected to reach more than 690,000 by the year 2025.[iii] Bone metastases are common among cancer patients and occur when cells from the primary cancerous tumor relocate to the bone. When these cancers relocate, they can cause changes to the bone, damaging it in a process called osteolysis. Osteolysis can cause small holes within the bone, weakening it and increasing the risk of breakage. These holes are called "lytic lesions." Among cancers which metastasize to bone, Breast and Prostate are most prevalent, amounting to approximately 70-percent of cases.[iv]
The Company has been issued two Breakthrough Device Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ZetaMet (Zeta-BC-003) and ZetaFuse and issued multiple patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Zetagen is funded through Series A and B rounds of funding, Phase I and II National Institute of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants and angel investors.
[i] Ibrahim T, Mercatali L, Amadori D. A new emergency in oncology: Bone metastases in breast cancer patients (Review). Oncol Lett. 2013;6(2):306-310. doi:10.3892/ol.2013.1372
[ii] Cecchini M, Wetterwald A, Pluijm G, Thalmann G. Molecular and biological mechanisms of bone metastasis. EAU Update Series 2005;3:214-26. [Google Scholar]
[iii] Gallicchio L, Devasia TP, Tonorezos E, Mollica MA, Mariotto A. Estimation of the Number of Individuals Living With Metastatic Cancer in the United States, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2022;, djac158, View Source
[iv] Li S, Peng Y, Weinhandl ED, et al. Estimated number of prevalent cases of metastatic bone disease in the US adult population. Clin Epidemiol. 2012;4:87-93. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S28339