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| Bind's Accurin technology entered the second Phase II trial in the form of its prostate cancer drug, BIND-014.--Courtesy of Bind |
Bind Therapeutics, just after filing to go public last week, began dosing its first patient in the second of two Phase II trials of its nanoparticle prostate cancer drug BIND-014.
Bind, which sprang from the lab of MIT professor Robert Langer, specializes in the delivery of nanomedicines, particularly for difficult-to-treat forms of cancer. The company's technology, targeted and programmable nanoparticles called Accurins, is designed to carry the cancer drug docetaxel to prostate cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy. BIND-014 is the first of the company's Accurins to reach the clinic, having passed Phase I in April.
The 40-patient Phase II study is designed to determine the efficacy of BIND-014 in patients with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, according to the company. Among the platform's advances are prolonged circulation due to a protective layer, highly specific targeting with surface ligands designed to home in on cancer cells and a timely release controlled by the particle's polymeric matrix.
"While treatment options for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer have advanced in recent years, primarily due to an increased understanding of androgen receptor biology, a significant unmet need remains for patients who fail hormonal agents," Bind Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gregory Berk said in a statement. "We are pleased our Phase I trial of BIND-014 established the safety profile and appropriate Phase II dose, and we are advancing BIND-014 in clinical development to further evaluate it as a potential option for patients who are in need of more effective therapies."
Just last week, the Cambridge, MA-based Bind filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public, aiming to raise a little more than $80 million. The company has some high-profile partners in Amgen ($AMGN), Pfizer ($PFE) and AstraZeneca ($AZN), as well as more than $1 billion in potential milestone agreements.
- here's the release