In a recent press release, Swedish biotechnology company Active Biotech announced that the first patient in their Phase 1b/2a clinical trial received a dose of tasquinimod. The trial will examine the efficacy and tolerability of tasquinimod on its own and in combination with other therapies for patients with multiple myeloma.
Tasquinimod
Ultimately, Active Biotech hopes to recruit 54 patients for their study. In the clinical trial, researchers will determine the maximum dose of tasquinimod for patients. Additionally, researchers will examine whether using tasquinimod in conjunction with ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (IRd) is better tolerated and more effective than using the drug alone. Altogether, the study aims to determine how much of the therapy patients will need, and how often.
Tasquinimod is orally administered. This investigational treatment is immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic. In layman’s terms, tasquinimod is designed to inhibit tumor growth. Previously, the drug was shown to benefit patients with solid cancers, like metastatic prostate cancer.
Researchers believe that tasquinimod fits an unmet need in the multiple myeloma community who need a wider array of safe and effective treatment options.
Multiple Myeloma
While doctors aren’t sure what causes multiple myeloma (a blood cancer that develops in plasma cells), some hypothesize that it relates to a deficient or missing chromosome 13. Normally, plasma cells create antibodies to fight infections. However, in patients with multiple myeloma, the cancer cells crowd out healthy cells in the bone marrow, creating too many M proteins. Only an estimated 32,000 U.S. citizens will receive a multiple myeloma diagnosis this year.
Symptoms of multiple myeloma include:
- Excessive thirst
- Unintended weight loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Anemia
- Low blood count
- Frequent infections
- Bone pain, usually in the spine, ribs, or chest
- Unexplained bone fractures
- Leg numbness and weakness
- Nausea and constipation
- Confusion
- Hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood)
Learn more about multiple myeloma here.
