ZetaMet™: Zetagen Therapeutics, a private, clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to driving breakthrough innovation in the treatment of metastatic bone cancers and osteologic interventions, today announced it has received Breakthrough Device designation from the Centers for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ZetaMet™ technology. Previously known as ZetaFuse™, ZetaMet™ is a synthetic, small-molecule, inductive biologic technology being developed to target and resolve metastatic bone lesions while inhibiting future tumor growth and regenerating bone.
“We are pleased to receive this important designation from the Agency and look forward to partnering with them,” said Joe C. Loy, CEO of Zetagen Therapeutics. “Our researchers have discovered an entirely new pathway for an established molecule which, if proven successful in human clinical trials, could create a new treatment paradigm for the hundreds of thousands of patients living with cancers that involve metastatic bone lesions.”
ZetaMet™ works through a mechanism of action (MOA) which is a novel and patented molecular pathway. The small molecule, precisely-dosed, delivered to the affected area through a proprietary drug-eluting carrier, stimulates stem cells, activating cells to grow healthy bone known as “osteoblasts”, and inhibits cells associated with bone degradation called “osteoclasts”. The combination technology has, thus far, in preclinical studies, demonstrated its ability to resolve existing metastatic bone lesions, inhibit pain and stimulate targeted bone regeneration.
Bone metastases are common among cancer patients and occur when cells from the primary cancerous tumor relocate to the bone. When these cancers relocate, they can cause changes to the bone, damaging it in a process called osteolysis. Osteolysis can cause small holes within the bone, weakening it and increasing the risk of breakage. These holes are called “lytic lesions.” Among cancers which metastasize to bone, Breast and Prostate are most prevalent, amounting to approximately 70-percent of cases.1
ZetaMet™ has successfully passed its preclinical trials and is being prepared for its first human clinical trial in early 2022.
