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Cellectar Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CLRB) Is A Runner On Near Term Catalysts

Cellectar Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CLRB) Is A Runner On Near Term Catalysts
Written by
Chris Sandburg
Published on
January 26, 2017
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Cellectar Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:CLRB) just announced that it has had an additional patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) relating to the its two lead assets, CLR 131 and CLR 125. The release was relatively vague in exactly what the patent covers, but a look under the hood reveals it covers method of use for the just mentioned assets, for the treatment of cancer, relating specifically to Cellectar's phospholipid drug conjugate (PDC) delivery platform.The announcement draws attention to the company at a time when markets are going to be watching it closely, for reasons we'll will get into in a little more detail shortly, and this serves up the potential for an upside run near term if things play out as expected. With this in mind, let's take a look at the company, and outline what we're looking for near-term as upside catalysts.Cellectar is a development stage biotechnology company headquartered in Wisconsin, with a core focus on oncology treatments. Specifically, the company uses the above-mentioned PDC delivery platform to create drugs that build upon the current standard of care treatments available in a range of cancers.Right now, its lead candidate is CLR 131. The drug is an investigational compound under investigation for the treatment of a range of hematologic malignancies (read: blood cancers) and it is currently being evaluated as part of a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.The drug is a combination of the PDC delivery technology already mentioned, and a radioactive isotope called iodine 131. The concept behind the science on these drugs is relatively simple. Cancer cells are surrounded by a layer of lipids – cholesterol, sphingolipids, etc. – whereas healthy cells are not. PDC systems are designed to be absorbed by high lipid concentration cells (like cancer cells) but not be absorbed by the lipid concentration cells (like healthy cells). As such, by attaching a radioactive isotope like iodine 131 to a PDC, and introducing it to the body, a drug can achieve highly selective targeting towards cancer cells, while essentially ignoring healthy cells.Current standard of care radiotherapy doesn't have this selectivity. This is why patients suffer from the side effects commonly associated with cancer treatment. By being selective, CLR 131 allows for a far higher dose of radioactivity to the cancer cells, while also limiting the side effects associated with treatment.So what is the catalyst? The drug is currently in a phase 1, as mentioned, investigating efficacy in multiple myeloma. The trial is a dose escalation trial, designed to determine an optimal dose with which to carry forward into the later stages of the development pathway. It won't complete until December this year, but ahead of this completion, Cellectar intends to kick off a phase 2 trial in the same indication. This phase 2 trial should begin at some point before the end of the second quarter, and therein lies our catalyst.It is only a relatively short trial, with 84 days of dosing and 80 patients enrolled, meaning initial primary completion should come at some point around the end of the year. This means­­­­­­­­­ we should see topline released during the first quarter of 2018. The primary endpoint for the study is objective response rate (and in turn, preliminary efficacy) and the secondary endpoint is time to progression. Further, it's not just investigating efficacy in multiple myeloma. The drug is also targeting a host of blood cancers including various types of leukemia, and a number of lymphoma rooted conditions.Each of these has the potential to open up a large market for the company if the data readout is positive come topline, and if 131 subsequently carries forward into a pivotal investigation.The company had $5.7 million cash on hand at the end of September, and recently closed on a $9.2 million offering. The phase 2 study is supported by the National Cancer Institute, so cash should run through until at least the first quarter of 2018. As such, dilution is not a near-term concern.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on CLRB, sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in CLRB and have not been compensated for this article.

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