The Foundation is excited to share that the DIPG Collaborative have awarded another grant, worth up to $50,000 USD, to Dr. Danielle Upton at the Children’s Cancer Institute.
This grant will enable Dr. Upton to progress a novel clinical trial of ACT001 as a potential new therapy for children with DIPG/DMG.
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation’s Director of Research and Investments and Chief of Staff, Stephanie Quattromani shared, “We urgently need these new, effective treatments for children with DIPG/DMG. On behalf on Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, we’re incredibly excited about this research and we can’t wait to see the outcomes for children and families impacted by DIPG/DMG.”
After testing 3,570 drugs for their ability to prevent DIPG cell growth, ACT001 was found to be one of the most effective in the lab. ACT001 is known to have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and readily crosses the blood brain barrier. Currently, seven DIPG/DMG patients are enrolled into a paediatric clinical trial of ACT001 with some patients demonstrating improvement in the appearance of the tumour on MRI imaging, as well as improvement in symptoms.
Dr. Upton said, “That’s one of the driving forces of why we think this is such a promising drug, we’re already seeing the clinical activity, and it’s a really great thing as a researcher, to be able to see that clinical activity alongside the pre-clinical development.”
Funding from the DIPG Collaborative will build upon the work of the phase I clinical trial, enabling the testing of potential combination therapies to overcome any potential resistance that might develop and to have a multi-targeted approach.
Speaking on the grant award, Keith Desserich from DIPG Collaborative, said “We can’t wait on new treatments. That’s why when the Children’s Cancer Institute found a new compound to fight DIPG, we not only supported it but funded another grant to start exploring how we get it to trial to benefit children as fast as possible.”
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation is a proud Foundational Partner of the DIPG Collaborative. We look forward to sharing more updates on Dr. Upton’s exciting research and the progress of this clinical trial alongside the DIPG Collaborative.
