Blaze Bioscience Announces Tumor Paint BLZ-100 Publication In International Journal Of Toxicology

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blaze Bioscience, Inc., the Tumor Paint Company^®, a biotechnology company dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients, today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript in International Journal of Toxicology describing the nonclinical safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of Tumor Paint BLZ-100 in animal models. The publication entitled “Nonclinical Profile of BLZ-100, a Tumor Targeting Fluorescent Imaging Agent” by Parrish-Novak et al is available online and will be available in print in an upcoming issue of International Journal of Toxicology.

“These nonclinical studies were an integral part to initiating the clinical program for Tumor Paint BLZ-100”

The publication outlines a series of studies to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and toxicology profile of BLZ-100 in animals after a single dose. The publication also discusses safety observations from a separate imaging pharmacology study conducted in mixed-breed dogs with naturally occurring tumors, a study fully funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract¹.

The combined studies established the nonclinical profile for BLZ-100, supporting the first-in-human clinical trials. Tumor Paint BLZ-100 is currently being tested in ongoing Phase I clinical studies in pediatric brain cancer and breast cancer, and has completed Phase I testing in skin cancer and adult brain cancer.

“These nonclinical studies were an integral part to initiating the clinical program for Tumor Paint BLZ-100,” said Dr. Dennis Miller, Blaze Bioscience SVP of Development. “The definitive toxicology studies in rats and non-human primates demonstrated safety with intravenous doses over 100-fold safety margin for our initial clinical doses.”

About BLZ-100

BLZ-100 is the first product candidate from Blaze’s Tumor Paint platform and consists of an Optide (optimized peptide) and a fluorescent dye, which emits light in the near-infrared range. Tumor Paint products are designed to provide real-time, high-resolution intraoperative visualization of cancer cells, potentially enabling more precise, complete resection of cancer throughout surgery. Preclinical utility of Tumor Paint technology has been demonstrated in a wide range of cancer types. BLZ-100, an investigational agent, is in Phase I clinical studies to evaluate the safety and imaging characteristics of BLZ-100 in solid tumors. BLZ-100 has achieved clinical proof of concept in brain, breast and skin cancers. Additional potential applications of BLZ-100 include prostate, lung, colorectal and other solid tumor cancers. More details about on-going trials are available at www.blazebioscience.com or www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Blaze Bioscience

Blaze Bioscience, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients. Blaze was founded in 2010 by Dr. Jim Olson, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Heather Franklin, a former member of the executive management team at ZymoGenetics. Blaze is working to develop Tumor Paint products and Optide-based therapeutics. Surgery is first-line therapy for most solid tumor cancers and Tumor Paint products have the potential to improve cancer surgery by providing real-time, high-resolution visualization of cancer cells throughout surgery. The ability to see cancer cells in real time and high resolution throughout surgery should enable better detection and more complete and precise surgical removal of cancer—while sparing surrounding normal tissue. In addition to the Tumor Paint platform, Blaze is collaborating with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to discover and develop products based on knottin peptides as part of the Optides platform. This program extends the expertise gained in developing the Tumor Paint platform to optimized knottin peptides for therapeutic and imaging applications. For additional information, please visit www.blazebioscience.com.

¹ This project has been funded in whole with Federal funds from National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN261201200054C.