Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRB) shares lose a small bit of ground at the open Thursday, as the late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted treatments for cancer, today announced it has been awarded $1.98 million in additional grant funding to expand its ongoing Phase 1 study of iopofosine I 131 (iopofosine) in children and adolescents with inoperable relapsed or refractory high grade gliomas (HGGs).
The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) based upon the initial signals of efficacy in the Phase 1 study, which is an international, open-label, dose escalation, safety study. The funding allows for an expansion from the Part 1a into the Part 1b portion of the company’s ongoing Phase 1 pediatric study. To accelerate development, the study is designed as a two-part approach.
The currently ongoing Phase 1a is designed to determine the safety, tolerability, and initial efficacy of iopofosine in pediatric brain tumors whereas the Phase 1b is designed to identify the dose and dosing regimen that results in optimal efficacy.
Thursday’s news release said previously announced preliminary data demonstrated therapeutic responses to iopofosine as evidenced by changes in multiple tumor parameters and patients experiencing extended progression free survival.
CLRB shares shed three cents to $4.28.
