PSTV - Plus Therapeutics Enters into License Agreement for Cerebrospinal Fluid Tumor Cell Enumeration Assay | Benzinga
CNSide™ assay is the gold standard diagnostic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assay for patients with suspected central nervous system (CNS) cancers
As part of the agreement, Plus obtains a nonexclusive license and option for exclusivity for patients receiving CNS radiotherapy
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 08, 2023 (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 cancers, today announced it has expanded its supply agreement with Biocept by acquiring an option to exclusively license Biocept's CNSide, a CSF-based tumor cell capture and enumeration platform, for patients receiving CNS radiotherapy. The option ensures that Plus Therapeutics has ongoing expanded access to the diagnostic CSF assay for patients with CNS cancers and can further develop and improve the assay specifically for patients with CNS cancers receiving radiotherapy.
"Thus far, in our ReSPECT-LM trial, we have had a very positive experience with the CNSide assay and think it has significant diagnostic potential," said Marc H. Hedrick M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Plus Therapeutics. "The announced agreement is an important building block to ensure Plus Therapeutics remains at the forefront of CNS cancer therapy."
Under the terms of the agreement, CNSide developer, Biocept, has granted Plus Therapeutics a non-exclusive license to its CNSide cell enumeration assay for Plus' investigational therapy for leptomeningeal metastases (LM), rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda, and an option for an exclusive license to the assay. In exchange, Plus Therapeutics will provide $150,000 of its common stock to Biocept. Prior to January 1, 2025, Plus Therapeutics will have the option for exclusivity for the field of radiotherapy in exchange for a $1.0 million payment, to be exercised at Plus Therapeutics' discretion.
"Use of the CNSide assay has the potential to substantially improve the diagnostic paradigm for patients with solid tumor leptomeningeal disease and could provide valuable information for these patients who have limited treatment options but where a targeted therapy may be beneficial," said Priya U. Kumthekar, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology and Medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "Paired with novel investigational therapeutics such as Plus Therapeutics' rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda, the overall clinical management of these challenging patients could be transformed."
CNSide is an assay based on proprietary quantitative tumor cell capture method paired with advanced digital imaging and molecular markers used to detect, characterize and quantify tumor cells in CSF of patients with a variety of solid organ carcinomas and suspected LM, particularly breast and lung cancer and melanoma which are leading causes of LM. CNSide provides a sensitive and specific quantitative method to evaluate tumor status and response to treatment compared to conventional CSF cytology or imaging monitoring.
In March 2023, Biocept initiated enrollment in the FORESEE trial with CNSide. The FORESEE trial is a two-part, multicenter, prospective ...