Autonomix today announced it received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its catheter-based cancer tumor treating technology.
The patent, titled Systems and Methods for Treating Cancer and/or Augmenting Organ Function, covers the company technology, including systems, methods, and devices for interventionally treating cancerous tumors and cancer-related pain. Autonomix plans to use the technology for pancreatic cancer-related pain.
“As we continue to advance the development of this potentially groundbreaking technology, bolstering our patent protection remains a key priority,” CEO Brad Hauser said in a news release. “Supported by recent positive preclinical results demonstrated to date, we believe the depth and breadth of our proprietary technology provides the opportunity for further evaluation and we intend to explore its potential to reduce cancer progression and metastases.”
Autonomix reported positive results from a preclinical study in mice that demonstrated its targeted nerve ablation technology significantly reduced metastases and tumor mass in pancreatic cancer models. The company said the findings suggest that neural pathways play a critical role in the development of pancreatic cancer.
The company’s ongoing proof-of-concept clinical trial in humans is currently focused on pain reduction through targeted nerve ablation near the pancreas. Additional studies are planned to assess whether the preclinical results can be replicated in clinical applications.
Autonomix also plans to investigate further the potential of its nerve ablation technology to slow tumor growth and metastasis in human pancreatic cancer patients.
The technology uses a catheter-based microchip sensing array antenna that can detect and differentiate neural signals with up to 3,000 times greater sensitivity than currently available technologies. Once the system identifies the target nerves, Autonomix uses radiofrequency ablation technology to kill the nerves and enable a precision-guided sense, treat, and verify approach to addressing a number of disease categories, from chronic pain management to hypertension and cardiology.
