January 24, 2017
HUMANETICS AWARDED PATENT To Mitigate Erectile Dysfunction Associated With Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minneapolis-based Humanetics Corporation (Humanetics) has been awarded a patent relating to methods of mitigating erectile dysfunction (ED) as an adverse side effect of radiation therapy for prostate cancer using their proprietary radioprotectant compound, BIO 300. Dr. Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM), as well as Director of the school’s Division of Translational Radiation Sciences (DTRS), and Dr. Isabel L. Jackson, PhD, assistant professor in the UM SOM Department of Radiation Oncology and Deputy Director of DTRS, are co-inventors on the awarded patent.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer affecting men in the U.S. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 181,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2016, representing approximately 20% of all new cancers in men. While survival rates are high, radiation-induced ED is a common—and devastating—side effect, which can occur in up to fifty percent of all cases. There are no approved drugs to mitigate radiation-induced ED.
In preclinical studies completed in collaboration with the University of Maryland, BIO 300 was shown to both mitigate radiation-induced ED and improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy to kill the tumors. "Radiation-induced ED remains a terrible consequence of prostate cancer therapy and influences treatment-related decisions for these patients," said Dr. Vujaskovic. “These findings support the advancement of this novel drug into a human efficacy study.”
“BIO 300’s demonstrated efficacy to enhance cancer treatment while reducing treatment-related side effects are unprecedented,” said Dr. Michael D. Kaytor, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development at Humanetics. BIO 300 is expected to be in a clinical study involving prostate cancer patients in 2017.
About Humanetics Corporation
Humanetics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company engaged in developing and commercializing products to enhance human health and wellbeing in markets with urgent and unmet needs with a focus on radiation modulators for oncology, medical imaging and medical countermeasure uses. For more information, visit www.humaneticscorp.com.
About the University of Maryland School of Medicine
The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 and is the first public medical school in the United States and continues today as an innovative leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the 11-campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a research-intensive, academic and clinically based education. With 43 academic departments, centers and institutes and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians and research scientists plus more than $400 million in extramural funding, the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with top-tier faculty and programs in cancer, brain science, surgery and transplantation, trauma and emergency medicine, vaccine development and human genomics, among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation, but also has a global presence, with research and treatment facilities in more than 35 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.medschool.umaryland.edu/