Advanced Targeting Systems awarded $3 million NCI grant to advance SP-SAP clinical program

Advanced Pain Remedies (APR), a subsidiary of Cato BioVentures, announces that a three million dollar grant has been received, to advance its lead development candidate, SP-SAP. Advanced Targeting Systems, the company that pioneered the targeting of specific cell types to manipulate them for the treatment of diseases, has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Advanced Targeting Systems, working with APR, will use these funds to advance the technology over the next three years to initiate the clinical program for SP-SAP in end-stage cancer patients with intractable pain.

SP-SAP is a conjugate of the pain-processing peptide Substance P and the ribosomal inactivating protein saporin. The mechanism of action is well characterized. A small number of cells that process pathological pain signals are inactivated causing pain relief that appears to be permanent, whereas, normal acute pain is unaffected. In preclinical tests, a single treatment with SP-SAP alleviated pathologic pain perception without affecting other sensory signal pathways.

Following discussions and input from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the first population to undergo treatment with SP-SAP will be terminal cancer patients. There is an unmet medical need in this population and a desire to find a treatment that would allow patients an alternative to opioids for pain relief as they are nearing the end of their lives. APR, partnered with Cato Research, a global contract research and development organization (CRO), will lead the regulatory and development aspects of this project.

"I am pleased that the National Cancer Institute has recognized the importance of this project.  With their assistance, we will be able to move this promising technology into clinical trials and determine its potential benefit to this patient population," stated Dr. Allen Cato, CEO of Advanced Pain Remedies and Cato BioVentures.