Laser-Targeted Pro-Drugs
Light Switch Bio (LSB) is developing a method to avoid the off-target side effects of drugs by adapting them into pro-drugs that allow for laser-guided control of their activity.
Light Switch Bio’s lead product is IR-Platin, a laser-targeted version of cisplatin, known as “the penicillin of cancer treatments” as it’s famously effective. In 1978, cisplatin was the first approved platinum agent – a class that’s today indicated for about half of all chemotherapy patients – and remains the most commonly used. Unfortunately, cisplatin is also notorious for toxicities caused by activity in healthy tissues, which require up to 56% of patients to pursue alternative treatments and increase the average costs of care by $10,000 or more per patient. IR-Platin has the potential to retain cisplatin’s efficacy in tumors while sparing patients from its toxic effects in healthy tissues by releasing cisplatin only where it’s activated by a laser.
Light Switch Bio is a spin-off from Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and received a $400K Phase I STTR Award from the National Cancer Institute to complete early pharmacokinetic, toxicity and efficacy studies in mouse models of Head and Neck Cancer at VCU.
What We’re Looking For
Light Switch Bio is seeking regulatory support for drug-device combination products with 505(b)(2) pro-drugs, a US-based manufacturing partner for their therapeutic compound, and research partners for IND-enabling studies and clinical trials.
Financing
Raising $5M by 2025 Q4 to support 2 years of IND-enabling efforts.
Latest News
October 2, 2024
New Richmond startup Light Switch Bio sets out to improve cancer treatments
Alex Ratti, MS
A 10 Under 10 Alumni of VCU and lifelong advocate for rare disease research with expertise in biomedical engineering and systems modeling. His motivation for LSB is inspired by issues his mother faced due to her ultra-rare skin disease (Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris), including toxicities from methotrexate.
Matthew Harman, PhD
A professor of medicinal chemistry at VCU trained by Nobel laureate Jack Szostak, who helped launch Ra Pharma. He is an inventor of IR-Platin and led its development for over 10 years through synthesis, IP protection and pre-clinical research to date.