Latest News

• Webinar next week        

  Our next webinar will be on Tuesday, March 3rd at 7pm ET with Dr. Robert Aiken on: "Clinical trial of a new individualized dendritic cell vaccine for treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma." To join, visit virtualtrials.org/webinar!

  
  
• Curtana Pharmaceuticals' CT-179 Overcomes Immunotherapy Resistance in Glioblastoma        

  Last year, Curtana Pharmaceuticals shared two publications highlighting CT-179's ability to target OLIG2 in Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports that CT-179 may help overcome immunotherapy resistance in glioblastoma (GBM). OLIG2 expression is common in GBM, especially in the proneural and mesenchymal subtypes. The study identifies OLIG2 as a driver of immune resistance by suppressing a signaling molecule called CXCL10, which is needed to attract CD8+ T cells into the tumor. By inhibiting OLIG2, CT-179 restores CXCL10 expression, increasing T cell infiltration and helping to convert "cold" tumors into more immune-responsive ones. While immunotherapy evasion in GBM is notoriously complex, preclinical mouse models have shown that a synergistic combination of CT-179 with anti-PDL-L1 therapy extended survival when compared to either treatment alone. Curtana is now preparing to launch a Phase 1 multi-site clinical trial in Australia (the OPAL study) to establish human safety and tolerability of CT-179.