Brainomix has revealed that it will be partnering with the TIPAL trial group to deliver a sub-study that analyses the efficacy of its e-Lung platform.

TIPAL is a trial funded by the National Institute of Health Research and supported by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The research is a placebo-controlled, year-long, multi-location study that is also evaluating the effect of lansoprazole, a frequently prescribed medication for heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux among individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

The 298 patients due to be enrolled in the study will perform home spirometry tests to record their forced vital capacity (FVC). Meanwhile, daily assessments taken at baseline and 12 months post-randomisation, will be duly contrasted to assess the impact of lansoprazole.

In addition, participants will complete weekly spirometry assessments from their homes during the follow-up period.

The Brainomix’s e-Lung platform, which will be incorporated throughout the research, is an AI-powered image processing module that standardises the quantification of lung fibrosis on high-resolution computerised tomography (CT) scans to more accurately establish progressive fibrosis patients.

Professor Andrew Wilson, TIPAL chief investigator, explained: "It is great to have the chance to incorporate the cutting-edge CT scanning technology developed by Brainomix into the TIPAL study. Not only will this venture tell whether lansoprazole improves the scarring detected on CT scans, but it will allow us to compare CT scan abnormalities to home-based lung function tests".

Ariceum Therapeutics, a company developing products for the treatment of specific cancers, has announced that the first patient has been dosed with its satoreotide therapy.

The treatment targets extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), while the research is taking place at the Murdoch University Health Center in Australia.

Ariceum’s broader open label phase 1b trial will analyse the tolerability and safety of the ‘theranostic pair’ of somatostatin receptor antagonists, ga-satoreotide trizoxetan and lu-satoreotide tetraxetan, among patients with ES-SCLC. The central aim of the research is to establish a recommended phase 2 dose.

‘Theranostics’ is the system of incorporating two paired drugs: the first, a diagnostic agent to identify cells that exhibit a particular biomarker, and the second, a therapeutic drug that subsequently acts on those cells.

Both the diagnostic agent and therapeutic drug include Ariceum’s proprietary peptide satoreotide – an antagonist of the somatostatin receptor 2 (SST2).

The wider study, LuSato-1, includes individuals with ES-SCLC who will each receive an infusion containing a somatostatin receptor antagonist before undergoing a ‘positron emission tomography’ scan. This scan will ultimately determine if a patient’s tumours express SST2.

Germo Gericke, chief medical officer of Ariceum Therapeutics, explained: “Although immune checkpoint blockade has improved the treatment of ES-SCLC, disease recurrence often occurs early in the maintenance phase.”