Thermosome is a clinical-stage biotech drug development company focused on targeted tumor therapy combined with immune system stimulation to enhance cancer treatment. At the core of the company is a novel, proprietary approach to targeted tumor treatment that enables significantly increased local drug concentration and enhanced tumor penetration to achieve improved clinical treatment efficacy.
Thermosome's lead drug candidate THE001 is a thermosensitive liposomal formulation of the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DPPG2-TSL-DOX) and pursues a different mode of action than conventional liposomes. Thermosome's technology enables intravascular drug release triggered by a mild heat pulse using clinically established hyperthermia devices. This results in up to 15-fold higher local drug concentration in the tumor and aims to improve clinical efficacy by generating a local boost at the desired site of action. These high local concentrations, which also reach less well-perfused areas, have the additional goal of overcoming drug resistance. This effect cannot be achieved by administering conventional doxorubicin due to systemic toxicity. Thermosome intends to further enhance treatment efficacy through an additive immune response induced by regional hyperthermia.
The first clinical indication for the development of THE001 is soft tissue sarcoma, where the company aims to improve the current standard of care (free doxorubicin). Thermosome's approach enables targeted tumor treatment independent of specific molecular targets and covers patient populations across all tumor subtypes. THE001 has further development potential in other anthracycline-sensitive solid tumors such as breast cancer, bladder cancer, or ovarian cancer.
