MDNews - San Antonio

FIGHTING CANCER WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY Andreas Jordan, PhD, Executive Vice President of MagForce USA Inc. and Founder of MagForce AG, invented NanoTherm therapy after years of researching the potential use of nanotechnology-based cancer treatments. The therapy involves inserting NanoTherm, a liquid containing iron oxide nanopar- ticles with a special silica coating, directly into the tumor. The nanoparticles are then exposed to a rapidly alternating magnetic field inside the NanoActivator device (similar to an MRI machine). The device raises the temperature inside the target area to 55˚ C (or 131˚ F) for 60 minutes. "To ablate the cancer cells, we have to focus heat onto the tumors so that no healthy tissue is harmed," Jordan says. "We believe the precision of treatment is so advanced that we can protect the structures and organs in the body and have extremely low adverse effects." NanoTherm was first approved in the European Union in 2011 as a treatment for a type of brain cancer. Used in conjunction with radiation, it was found to increase glioblastoma multiforme patients' life expectancy after diagnosis from between eight and 16 months to a median of 26 months. MagForce is now seeking FDA approval for the use of this nanotechnology-based therapy as a treatment option for prostate cancer patients in the U.S. "NanoTherm therapy fits into the treatment paradigm if a patient diagnosed with low- to medium- risk prostate cancer is on active surveillance and his tumor begins to seem riskier. We could inject these nanoparticles and ablate the tumor," says Ian Thompson III, MD, owner of Texas Urolog y, Chief Medical Officer of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center and Principal Investigator for MagForce USA Inc. "After treating patients with NanoTherm therapy, we would hypothetically be able to safely return them to active surveillance and avoid the long-lasting side effects that come with either surgery or radiation." TESTING A NEW TREATMENT PATH The three-part clinical trials are currently being conducted at two clinical centers. The first is in San Antonio, and its principal investigators are Dr. Thompson Jr., Dr. Thompson III and Michael Liss, MD, urologist at UT Health San Antonio. The second center is in Seattle, and its principal investigator is Daniel Lin, MD. MagForce will add a third site, in Sarasota, Florida, in time for the later stages of the trials. " The only way to get this technolog y on the ma rket is by getting people enrolled in the studies so we ca n f u lf i l l the FDA requirements," says Dav id Ha mmond, Clinica l Tria ls Director for Ma gForce USA Inc. " We need more subjects to get to that stage." Altruism in Research John Ford, a 63-year-old pastor from Boerne, Texas, became a participant in the first phase of the clinical trial. He began the therapy last October after receiving his prostate cancer diagnosis from his physician, Ian Thompson III, MD, owner of Texas Urology Group, Chief Medical Officer of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center and Principal Investigator for MagForce USA Inc. "One thing that kept coming up in my research was that there were no treatment options that didn't have a pretty significant risk of side effects," Ford says. "I knew that if I could be involved in getting something approved that might help offer men a better treatment than what I had been able to find, I wanted to be a part of it." Dr. Thompson III says he is extremely appreciative of the altruism demonstrated by patients like Ford. "We are so grateful for patients who step up and participate in these clinical trials," Dr. Thompson III says. "It is because of them that advance- ments in cancer treatment are possible." " Ablation therapies, such as NanoTherm therapy, reduce the risk of overtreatment and make the argument for PSA testing that much stronger. With this technology, you can effectively sort out tumors that do not need to be treated, aggressively treat high-risk tumors and potentially ablate those intermediate-risk tumors that could later lead to death." — IAN THOMPSON JR., MD, PRESIDENT AT CHRISTUS SANTA ROSA HOSPITAL- MEDICAL CENTER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR MAGFORCE USA INC. M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S S A N A N T O N I O ■ 2 019 0 7

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