Study demonstrates that TransCode’s lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138, reduces tumor cell capacity for self-renewal

BOSTON, Sept. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAZ), the RNA oncology company committed to more effectively treating cancer using RNA therapeutics, in collaboration with Michigan State University, published an article in the journal Oncotarget titled, Inhibition of miR-10b treats metastatic breast cancer by targeting stem cell-like properties. The article was published on August 26, 2024. The study was led by Dr. Anna Moore, Professor, Director of the Precision Health Program, and Associate Dean of the School of Medicine at Michigan State University and scientific co-founder of TransCode.

In this study, the authors show that stem-like breast cancer cells increase expression of miR-10b, the molecule targeted by TTX-MC138. The study also demonstrates that treatment of breast cancer cells with TTX-MC138 reduces their stemness, confirming that these properties make metastatic cells susceptible to the therapeutic candidate’s actions.

Cancer cell stemness, or capacity for self-renewal, is a critical component of metastasis, since specialized cancer stem cells are those cells uniquely capable of creating new tumors and seeding metastatic dissemination. Stemness is a property of a distinct population of cancer cells that possess developmental plasticity allowing them to self-renew and adapt to new microenvironments found at the metastatic organ where they lead to creation of metastatic tumors.

“These new findings improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind TTX-MC138’s role in metastatic cancer,” commented Dr. Zdravka Medarova, Chief Scientific Officer of TransCode and an author of the publication. “This knowledge is essential as we conduct our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial with this candidate because it may help better predict clinical response in individual patients based on the unique molecular fingerprint of their cancer. In addition, this new information may help us define potential molecular biomarkers of therapeutic efficacy that can serve as early surrogate indicators of clinical success. Finally, this knowledge may help us better stratify patients for enrollment in our later-stage clinical trials based on these predictive biomarkers,” added Dr. Medarova.

About TransCode Therapeutics

TransCode Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company focused on treating metastatic disease. The company is committed to defeating cancer through the intelligent design and effective delivery of RNA therapeutics based on its proprietary TTX nanoparticle platform. The company’s lead therapeutic candidate, TTX-MC138, is focused on treating metastatic tumors which overexpress microRNA-10b, a unique, well-documented biomarker of metastasis. In addition, TransCode is developing a portfolio of other first-in-class RNA therapeutic candidates designed to overcome the challenges of RNA delivery and thus unlock therapeutic access to a variety of novel genetic targets that could be relevant to treating a variety of cancers.