Mustang Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Worcester, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enter into clinical trials for a drug to treat glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer.
The investigational treatment will combine two accepted treatments for glioblastoma to assess the tolerability and effectiveness of using both therapies concurrently. It will combine a CAR-T cell therapy and a HSV-1 oncolytic virus, a viral therapy, according to a Thursday press release from Mustang Bio.
Mustang Bio previously presented data suggesting the combination of the cell therapy and viral therapy could be more effective than either in isolation.
“Recurrent GBM remains a major challenge to treat, with a median overall survival rate of six months. We are committed to finding better treatment options for patients living with difficult-to-treat cancers and look forward to initiating our MB-109 Phase 1 clinical trial in 2024,” Mustang Bio President and CEO Dr. Manuel Litchman said in the press release.
The trial will take place at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and City of Hope cancer centers, which have locations in Atlanta, Chicago, and Phoenix, according to the press release. Enrollment is expected to begin in 2024.
In May, Mustang Bio sold its 27,000-square-foot development, manufacturing, and testing facility in Worcester to a Boston firm with plans for that firm to take over its manufacturing at the facility.
