RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
TREATMENT
with HYPERICIN
Glioblastoma multiforme
Disease
Glioblastoma is a very aggressive form of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord and often is not curable, leading to death of the patient up to 15 months after diagnosis. Currently, the standard treatment for glioblastoma is based on surgical tumour resection, radiation and chemotherapy; called the STUPP protocol developed in 2005. Surgery has been improved using Fluorescent guided surgery (FGS) and better protocols for chemotherapy and radiation, however, there have not been any major improvements since 2005. Hence the overall prognosis for glioblastoma patients still remains very poor. It is therefore necessary to develop new therapeutic options for the treatment of these patients.
New Therapeutic Strategy
Hypericum LifeScience has developed a new photosensitizer generation based on hypericin: HHL-PVP-02, which can be used to treat people at a therapeutic dose for the first time.
HLS lead clinical candidate HHL-PVP-02 has unique properties for the treatment of numerous cancers:
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Hypericin is specifically taken up into malignant cancer cells
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Hypericin cannot enter the brain by passing through the blood brain barrier (BBB), but tumour vessels showing enhanced vascular permeability.
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Light will induce Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which will cause site specific chemotherapy in the tumour cells, while leaving healthy tissue undamaged.
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Hypericin also “glows” – helping the surgeon to cuts out the cancer with more precision (Fluorescent guided surgery (FGS))
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Hypericin is very safe – the side effects normally associated with chemotherapy will NOT be suffered by the patient
