The small molecule therapeutic, which has dual mode of action including anti-catabolic and pro-anabolic activity, is indicated for the treatment of cancer cachexia, a wasting syndrome characterized by loss of muscle and fat.
PsiOxus Therapeutics CEO Dr John Beadle said Cachexia is a very serious, but often underestimated and poorly managed medical consequence of cancer.
"Historically, treatment has focused on the underlying illnesses that predispose patients to cachexia, and it is only very recently that cachexia has been regarded as a treatable syndrome in its own right," Beadle added.
The a double blind, multinational, placebo controlled and randomized study has enrolled 87 patients with Stage III or IV lung cancer or colorectal cancer and severe weight loss and fatigue to demonstrate reversal of weight loss following treatment with MT-102.
In addition, the trial will examine improvement in functional ability and quality of life as quantified by a battery of previously validated instruments.
A preclinical model of cancer cachexia found that MT-102 demonstrated superior efficacy, improved body weight, muscle mass, fat mass, mobility as well as survival.
In vivo study of the drug has also shown to have beneficial effects upon both cachexia and age-related sarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass and function that results from the process of aging, claims the company.