Defence Therapeutics Inc. announced that it successfully tested a new formulation of its ACCUM-002TM Dimer CDCA-SV40 commonly named "AccuTOX®", as an anticancer treatment for lung-established tumors. These results widen the scope of application for AccuTOX® in the treatment of solid cancer tumors. AccuTOX® is an optimization of the Accum® molecule and platform technology developed by Defence Therapeutics.

Recent studies demonstrated that AccuTOX® has enhanced therapeutic properties and a broader application in cancer therapeutics as it has successfully killed more than a dozen different murine and human cancer cell lines. When initially delivered intranasally, AccuTOX® had a great impact on blocking tumor growth of pre-established lung nodules in mice. However, the drug was delivered as nasal droplets, which represents an approach difficult to translate to the clinic.

Therefore, Defence used a nebulizing device named "Anesthesia Mask Nebulizer Delivery System" of Kent Scientific Corporation to deliver its compound in the least invasive way. Following several preclinical studies to set-up different delivery parameters, a maximum tolerated study revealed that the drug is tolerated by rodents at a dose of 3 mg/kg. When delivered as a monotherapy, AccuTOX® inhibited the growth of lung nodules.

AccuTOX® was recently cleared by the FDA to begin a Phase I trial in patients with Stage IIIB to IV melanoma, as released per the Company on December 11, 2023. According to Precedence Research, the global cancer therapeutics market size is expected to be worth around USD 393.61 billion by 2032 from at USD 164 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 9.20% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032.