AURA - Aura rises after updating Phase 2 data for eye cancer therapy

Oncology-focused biotech Aura Biosciences ( NASDAQ: AURA ) added ~3% pre-market Thursday after updating interim results from the company’s Phase 2 trial for eye cancer therapy Belzupacap Sarotalocan (bel-sar) in choroidal melanoma.

The study is designed to evaluate bel-sar, which belongs to a drug class called virus-like drug conjugates, as a first-line treatment of early-stage choroidal melanoma for subcutaneous administration.

The patients in Cohorts 5 and 6, with an average of nine months of follow-up, received up to three cycles of therapy, the selected therapeutic regimen for the evaluation, in line with the match the criteria for the planned global Phase 3 trial.

The eight patients in those cohorts indicated a 100% (8/8) tumor control rate and a statistically significant reduction in the tumor growth rate. However, one patient from cohort 6 dropped out after one cycle of therapy due to unrelated serious adverse events.

“These latest results strongly support the potential of bel-sar to be used as a first line treatment option for patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma,” Dr. Ivana Kim, Director of the Ocular Melanoma Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, remarked.

In an October announcement, Aura ( AURA ) said patients in cohorts 5 and 6 indicated an 88.9% (8/9) tumor control rate.

For further details see: