Drug delivery technology company TriSalus Life Sciences has merged with blank check company MedTech Acquisition Corporation (MedTech) to bolster the combined entity’s cash reserves and fund key developmental and commercial milestones.
The merged company began trading on Nasdaq as “TLSI” and “TLSIW” from today with a share value of $11.34. The merger is expected to provide a cash runway until mid-2024 for various plans, including the development of a cancer therapy. MedTech’s primary goal is to pursue mergers or acquisitions.
The TriNav Infusion System (TriNav) has been a blockbuster device for TriSalus with forecasted sales of $19.2m in 2023, compared to $12.4m in 2022. The system enables pressure-enabled drug delivery, decreasing drug toxicity by enabling targeted drug administration directly to cancer cells while avoiding drug exposure in normal tissues.
TriSalus now plans to expand into cancer therapeutic research with SD-101, a class C toll-like receptor-9 (TLR) agonist that is administered using TriNav. It is currently being investigated in an open-label Phase I trial (NCT04935229) for patients with uveal melanoma with liver metastases (UMLM).
In an update at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, the study reported a targeted tumour-killing response, with 5% of the treatment population showing serious adverse events. Additional data is expected in Q4 2023, and a Phase II trial is planned to start by the end of 2023.
SD-101 is also being investigated in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.