CPRIT grantee Panther Therapeutics describes implant that releases cancer drug near pancreatic tumors

Panther Therapeutics, a clinical‑stage company awarded a grant by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), told the CPRIT Oversight Committee that it has advanced a biodegradable, unidirectional drug‑eluting film designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to pancreatic tumors.

The company’s co‑founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Laura Indolfi, said the product — developed as part of the firm’s CPRIT‑funded work — is intended to place a flexible drug film near the tumor via minimally invasive surgery and release a high local dose of drug over weeks while minimizing systemic exposure. “It’s flexible; it can go through the laparoscopic trocar that are used for minimally invasive procedures,” Indolfi said during the presentation.

CPRIT’s grant funded early development and clinical proof‑of‑concept work. Indolfi told the committee the company’s product platform includes a peritumoral (around the tumor) biodegradable film and an intratumoral implant; the presentation focused on the peritumoral film developed for pancreatic cancer. She said the company’s lead drug product, known in presentation materials as PTM‑101, is in early clinical testing for pancreatic cancer and that an…