Provectus Biopharmaceuticals Establishes Research Collaboration with University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine to Investigate Pharmaceutical-Grade Small Molecule Immunotherapy Rose Bengal Sodium for Canine Soft Tissue Sarcomas
KNOXVILLE, TN, June 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Provectus (OTCQB: PVCT) today announced that the Company has initiated a new sponsored research program with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of intralesional injection of a formulation of Provectus’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS for canine soft tissue sarcomas. UTCVM’s lead principal investigator of this work is clinical pathologist, comparative cancer biologist, and Assistant Professor Nora Springer, DVM, PhD, DACVP.
This preclinical and clinical veterinary study is being undertaken as part of the State of Tennessee’s funding to develop animal health drug products in partnership with state universities that have agriculture and veterinary medicine programs and the Company.
Soft tissue sarcomas are common malignant neoplasms in dogs that are locally invasive and have a high prevalence of recurrence after surgical excision. These tumors are often located on the extremities, where complete surgical excision is challenging because minimal soft tissues hinder the ability to gain adequate tumor margins while maintaining the ability to close the surgical wound. Adjuvant chemotherapeutic protocols do not improve either time to recurrence or overall survival with incompletely excised soft tissue sarcomas. Radical measures, such as limb amputation, are often required to ensure complete excision for limb sarcomas and this option is frequently unpalatable to patient owners. Therefore, intralesional injection resulting in tumor ablation may be an ideal treatment modality for soft tissue sarcomas.
Dr. Springer graduated from Marietta College with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, LaGuardia Community College with an Associate in Applied Science in Veterinary Technology, Kansas State University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and Cornell University with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Translational Medicine. She completed the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) certifying examination to become a Diplomate Member (DACVP), and has co-authored a number of medical journal publications to date.
Dominic Rodrigues, Vice Chairman of Provectus’s Board said, “We are excited to commence this canine cancer study with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Nora Springer to accelerate our animal health drug development program. We believe that the Company’s adult cancer clinical and pediatric preclinical data to date can meaningfully contribute to Dr. Springer’s canine cancer work, and vice versa because spontaneous cancers in dogs share many features with human cancers.”
About Provectus
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Provectus or the Company) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapy medicines for different diseases that are based on a class of synthetic small molecule immuno-catalysts called halogenated xanthenes (HXs). Provectus’s lead HX molecule is named rose bengal sodium (RBS).
The Company’s proprietary, patented, pharmaceutical-grade RBS is the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in the drug product candidates of Provectus’s clinical development programs and preclinical formulations of the Company’s drug discovery programs. Provectus’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS displays different therapeutic effects at different concentrations and can be formulated for delivery by different routes of administration. The International Nonproprietary Names Expert Committee of the World Health Organization selected “rose bengal sodium” for the nonproprietary name of the Company’s API.
RBS may target disease in a bifunctional manner. Direct contact may lead to cell death or repair depending on the disease being treated and the concentration of Provectus’s RBS utilized in the treatment. Multivariate immune signaling, activation, and response may follow that may manifest as stimulatory, inhibitory, or both.
The Company believes that it is the first entity to advance an RBS formulation into clinical trials for the treatment of a disease. Provectus believes that it is the first and only entity to date to successfully, reproducibly, and consistently make pharmaceutical-grade RBS at a purity of nearly 100%.
Provectus’s small molecule HX medical science platform includes clinical development programs in oncology, dermatology, and ophthalmology; proof-of-concept in vivo drug discovery programs in oncology, hematology, wound healing, and animal health; and preclinical in vitro drug discovery programs in infectious diseases and tissue regeneration and repair.
Information about the Company’s clinical trials can be found at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry, ClinicalTrials.gov. For additional information about Provectus, please visit the Company’s website at www.provectusbio.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The information in this press release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of U.S. securities legislation, relating to the business of Provectus and its affiliates, which are based on the opinions and estimates of Company management and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek,” “anticipate,” “budget,” “plan,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “may,” “will,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” “targeting,” “intend,” “could,” “might,” “should,” “believe,” and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.
The safety and efficacy of the agents and/or uses under investigation have not been established. There is no guarantee that the agents will receive health authority approval or become commercially available in any country for the uses being investigated or that such agents as products will achieve any particular revenue levels.
Due to the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or as of the date specifically specified herein, and Provectus undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions include those discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including those described in Item 1A of:
- The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2022, and
- Provectus’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2023.
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Contact:
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Heather Raines, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (866) 594-5999
