Senesco Technologies, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company specializing in cancer therapeutics, has reported the treatment of first patient at its newly opened clinical-trial site at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). This patient is part of Senesco’s phase Ib/IIa clinical study of its therapeutic drug candidate, SNS01-T, targeting B-cell cancers.

“We are excited to add SCCA as a clinical site,” stated Leslie J. Browne, president and CEO of Senesco. “It is our first site on the west coast and we anticipate its urban location will help attract patients who meet our patient enrollment needs.”

SCCA is a cancer treatment center that unites physician scientists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s. The organisation strives to provide outstanding care to cancer patients and to further improve survival rates. By bringing together the cancer-related patient-care services of the three institutions, SCCA builds on existing strengths, allows easier interactions among the cancer experts in each organization and provides improved access to resources.

“We are very pleased to have added another patient to group 3 of the SNS01-T study,” stated Alice S Bexon, MD, vice president of Clinical Development. “At the current dose level of 0.2 mg/kg, which is in the range where an effect was seen in preclinical cancer models, we are looking for a stronger effect than was seen at lower doses in groups 1 and 2.”

The study is an open-label, multiple-dose, dose-escalation study, which is evaluating the safety and tolerability of SNS01-T when administered by intravenous infusion to approximately 15 relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, mantle cell (MCL) or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. While the primary objective of this study is to evaluate safety and tolerability, the effect of SNS01-T on tumor response and time to relapse or progression will be assessed using multiple well-established metrics including measurement of monoclonal protein in multiple myeloma and CT imaging in MCL and DLBCL.