Gene-silencing specialist Sirnaomics has been cleared to start trials of its STP705 drug in bile duct cancer, its first oncology indication.
The FDA has approved the biotech’s application to test the RNA interference (RNAi) candidate—which targets TGF-B1 and COX-2—in patients with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma, or CCA), adding to an earlier green light for a trial of the drug as a scar-reducing treatment.
The biotech says STP705 down regulates cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) activity within the tumor microenvironment, inhibiting tumor formation. It was given orphan status for CCA and a fibrotic disease affecting the bile duct, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), last year.