Atlanta, Georgia – A Georgia State University startup company focused on developing cancer-fighting tools and treatments is making new strides by advancing its technology to the next phase of clinical trials.
Georgia State’s Office of Technology Transfer reports that Da Zen Theranostics is preparing an innovation known as DZ-002 for its next significant milestone, with Phase II clinical trials set to begin early next year.
Developed through a collaboration involving Georgia State, Emory University and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, DZ-002 aims to improve cancer patient survival rates and quality of life. This technology delivers anticancer drugs exclusively to cancer cells using a cancer-targeting dye carrier, and improves tumor diagnosis, detection and treatment by employing imaging dye-drug conjugates. It is one of the first Georgia State-based technologies to enter clinical trials.
“We are excited to be bridging the gap between research and commercialization,” said Joanne Mitchell, director of Georgia State’s Office of Technology Transfer. “Our work is bringing transformative technologies to market to enhance the lives of patients while spurring economic growth here in Georgia.”
The compound uses a patented light-emitting agent, MHI-148 dye–drug conjugate, which illuminates tumor cells during surgery and also improves the accuracy of targeted chemotherapy.
Georgia State Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Chemistry Maged Henary is one of the researchers behind the discovery that enables this targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs.
“The MHI-148 dye-drug conjugate is taken by the tumor cells, lighting them up and, at the same time, it delivers a chemotherapeutic agent to target and kill the cancer cells with precision and guide surgeons to resect all of the cancer,” Henary said.
Da Zen is preparing for a round of Series A fundraising to generate $6 million for the Phase II clinical trial. To date, the company has filed 17 patent applications, five of which have been granted. This includes seven exclusively licensed patents and a number of proprietary technologies.
“Our goal is to prove that DZ is a platform, not just a single-use treatment,” said Da Zen CEO Yu-Ping Cheng. “DZ improves existing cancer drugs by transporting them directly into cancer cells, resulting in greater efficacy and fewer side effects.”
The Office of Technology Transfer at Georgia State provides support to researchers and entrepreneurs to translate academic research into commercial solutions. With partnerships and licensing technologies, the OTTC helps innovative research make real-world impact.
With these promising advancements, Georgia State and Da Zen Theranostics continue to drive impactful discoveries to improve patient treatments worldwide.
The Phase II trials are set to start at HOAG Cancer Center early next year.
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Noelle Reetz
Georgia State University
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