According to singer Sheryl Crow (and Cat Stevens), the first cut is the deepest. However, according to EpicentRx CEO and oncovirologist, Dr. Tony Reid, the first cut isn’t deep or, for that matter, even a cut at all — but rather a needle stick.
This is the essence of molecular surgery, a term that Dr. Reid coined many moons ago to describe the elimination of tumors with syringe-injected gene therapy in the absence of incisions, scarring, or recovery time.
At the 2024 Precision Medicine Health Summit, Dr. Reid gave a featured presentation entitled, “Molecular Surgery: The Cutting Edge of Precision Cancer Therapy (Without Incisions or Scarring).” The prototype of a molecular surgery candidate is lead EpicentRx therapy, AdAPT-001, currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial called BETA PRIME. AdAPT-001 is a virally delivered transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) antagonist or trap, which Dr. Reid, and Dr. Chris Larson, EpicentRx VP of Viral Manufacturing, created. This TGFβ trap neutralizes the potently fibrotic, immunosuppressive and ubiquitously expressed cytokine, TGFβ.
AdAPT-001 is administered intratumorally via syringe every 2 weeks where it selectively infects tumor cells and lyses them. However, in the lead up to lysis, AdAPT-001 turns tumor cells into factories that support viral replication and the on-site expression of the TGF-beta trap.
Tumors potentially come under attack from AdAPT-001 in 4 ways: 1) tumor lysis 2) activation of the immune system 3) reduction of fibrosis and 4) actual surgery if AdAPT-001 shrinks tumors to the point that they become operable. This is why Dr. Reid’s “incisive” presentation could have been titled, “From knife to needle and back again”, as several patient examples from the BETA PRIME clinical trial, some of whom potentially underwent curative surgery after treatment with AdAPT-001 +/- a checkpoint inhibitor, vividly illustrated.
However, at the end of Dr. Reid’s virtual presentation, no one said “cut,” which was entirely appropriate — or was it?