Micro-Cap Brain Cancer Focused Plus Therapeutics Poised To Receive $3M From US Department of Defense

Plus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PSTV) has been selected for $3 million in funding recommendation by the Department of Defense (DoD) office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. 

The award is expected to commence in Q3 2024 and will support the planned expansion of the company's clinical trial for pediatric brain cancer. 

"This recent award further extends our current cash runway in the second half of 2025 while supporting the 2024 expansion of our clinical development activities," said Marc Hedrick, President & CEO of Plus Therapeutics. 

"In 2023, the company applied for approximately $7 million in grant funding, and we plan to file for more than $10 million in funding in 2024," Hedrick added.

The DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Advancing Cancer Care through Clinical Trials Award will be utilized to fund a Phase 1 dose escalation trial to address the FY23 PRCRP Topic Area of Pediatric Brain Tumors. 

This study will investigate a novel therapeutic, Rhenium (186Re) Obisbemeda (186RNL), delivered by Convection Enhanced Delivery, for supratentorial recurrent, refractory, or progressive pediatric high-grade glioma and ependymoma. 

Patient enrollment is expected to start in the second half of 2024. 

Plus Therapeutics has $23 million in active awards support for the company's targeted radiotherapeutic pipeline.  

Rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda is an injectable radiotherapy specifically formulated to deliver direct targeted high-dose radiation in central nervous system (CNS) tumors. 

Rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda is being evaluated for recurrent glioblastoma and leptomeningeal metastases in the ReSPECT-GBM and ReSPECT-LM clinical trials. 

ReSPECT-GBM is supported by an award from the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and ReSPECT-LM is funded by a three-year $17.6 million grant by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas.

Price Action: PSTV shares closed at $1.63 on Friday.