MagForce, a major medical device firm focusing on nanomedicine in oncology, and Mayo Clinic, a major US medical center, have inked a pre-clinical research deal.
As per the deal, Mayo Clinic will commence a research program to assess the preclinical efficacy of MagForce's NanoTherm therapy in the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancer. Professor of Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, Dev Mukhopadhyay will lead the project and Mayo Clinic will fund the study. The project’s objective is to get a preclinical proof-of-concept for filing the clinical development program that supports the NanoTherm therapy’s FDA premarket approval in these indications.
According to MagForce’s Vice President of R&D/Medical Affairs, Hoda Tawfik, pancreatic cancer is a silent killer as it is generally detected in late and advanced stage. This cancer is a major challenge in oncology due to very low survival rates and harsh side effects caused by chemotherapeutics. With roughly 32,000 new cases yearly in the United States alone, it is important to devise new therapeutic techniques for pancreatic cancer treatment.
Tawfik further said that MagForce may demonstrate the viability of the application of the NanoTherm therapy to treat pancreatic cancer in a pilot study. He is happy about MagForce’s collaboration with Mayo Clinic to get a preclinical proof-of-concept in the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancer by applying the NanoTherm therapy. A positive result from this new research project may lay the cornerstone to establish a clinical development program in gastrointestinal cancer in alliance with key medical opinion leaders across the US.
MagForce’s Founder and Executive Board, Andreas Jordan commented that the research deal is an important progress to engage the US medical community in the NanoTherm therapy development.