Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. announced a strategic partnership with City of Hope Cancer Center, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States. The collaboration will focus on the clinical development of Cellectar's lead radioconjugate asset, iopofosine I 131, in mycosis fungoides (MF), a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) that affects the skin and, in some patients, internal organs and blood. Iopofosine is the first systemic targeted radiotherapeutic to be assessed for cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL).

The investigator sponsored trial will evaluate approximately 10 patients; initiation is planned for late 2024 or early 2025. MF has a prevalence of approximately 30,000 patients and is the most common form of CTCL. It is a slow-growing form of blood cancer in which some of the body's white blood cells become malignant and has no curable treatment options.

The most common presentation is skin rash, plaques and tumors on the skin resulting in disfigurement, severe and debilitating pruritis, and in some cases involves blood and internal organs that may lead to death. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted iopofosine I131, a small-molecule Phospholipid Drug Conjugate?? (PDC) designed to provide targeted delivery of iodine-131 (radioisotope), Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designation for relapsed/refractory (r/r) Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM), r/r multiple myeloma and r/rdiffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Cellectar is preparing to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA based on its CLOVER WaM pivotal study in WM in the second half of 2024. The company previously announced topline data from its CLover WaM pivotal study earlier this year and plans to announce updated results in June.