First-in-Class cancer drug targets Hard-to-Treat tumors
NCT ID NCT07636785
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests an experimental oral drug called VMD-102 in people with advanced solid tumors, including liver, lung, kidney, skin (uveal melanoma), and colorectal cancers that have not responded to standard treatments. The drug works by blocking a specific protein (PKC epsilon) that may help cancer grow. The trial has two phases: first, to find the safest dose, and second, to see if the drug can shrink tumors or slow their growth. Researchers will also monitor side effects and measure how the drug behaves in the body.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- VMD-102 (an oral drug that blocks a specific protein called PKC epsilon)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a new treatment option for people with advanced solid tumors that have stopped responding to standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with a small number of participants, so the drug may not prove effective or may cause unexpected side effects. It is the first time this drug is tested in humans.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 111 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Histological or cytological or radiological diagnosis of advanced (unresectable and/or metastatic) HCC, MUM, RCC, NSCLC and CRC that is not responsive to standard of care (SOC), had progressed following SOC, is intolerant to SOC, or for whom the SOC is not considered appropriate by the investigator. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0, or 1. * Has at least one measurable target lesion according to RECIST v1.1 \[Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors\], or mRECIST \[modified RECIST\] for unresectable HCC participants, and either (a). has not been previously treated with local therapy (e.g., radiation therapy, hepatic arterial embolization, radiofrequency ablation, and percutaneous interventional therapy), or (b). if the target lesion was within the field of local therapy, the lesion has shown an increase in size of 25% or greater following local therapy. * Adequate organ function evidenced by: Hematology * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL (SI Units: 90 g/L) (post-transfusion if transfusion-dependent) * Platelet count ≥ 60000/mm3 (60 x109/L) without support(transfusion) within 7 days of testing * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1500/mm3 (1.5x109/L) Chemistry * Total bilirubin (TBIL) ≤ 2.0 x upper limit of normal (ULN). (For participants with Gilbert's syndrome, TBIL ≤3.0 x ULN provided that direct bilirubin DBIL) is \<30% of the TBIL) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 1 ≤ 5 x U LN (participants with advanced HCC or liver metastases) * AST and/or ALT 1 ≤ 3 x ULN (participants without known liver disease or liver metastases) * Calculated creatinine clearance or 24h urine creatinine clearance ≥50 mL/min using Cockroft-Gault formula. * Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5x ULN Coagulation (unless taking an anti-coagulant): * Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN (except for participants receiving therapeutic anticoagulants) * International normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 1.5 unless the participant is receiving anticoagulant therapy as long as the participant is within therapeutic range of intended use of anticoagulants * Albumin ≥2.8g/d/L. * For HCC participants: the diagnosis must be made based on American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Guidelines with confirmed advanced (unresectable) HCC staged by Barcelona Clinic Liver cancer criteria (BCLC). Cirrhosis will be staged by Child-Pugh score, and such a score ≤ 6 will be eligible for Phase 1 and ≤7 for Phase 2. * Participants must either have available archival tumor tissue samples, or consent to fresh tumor tissue sampling prior to the first dose unless the biopsy is not safe or not feasible per investigator assessment and with medical monitor approval. * Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) must have a negative pregnancy test prior to enrolment and agree to use a highly effective and acceptable method of contraception from the time of informed consent (or screening) until 6 months after the last dose of investigational agent. * Male participants who are sexually active with a female partner of childbearing potential must agree to use a condom with spermicide from first dose of investigational agent until 6 months after the last dose, and refrain from sperm donation during that period. Abstinence from heterosexual intercourse is an acceptable method only if the participant's usual lifestyle already includes abstinence. * Participant has a life expectancy of ≥3 months. * No history of liver transplantation. * Ability to swallow and absorb an orally self-administered medication in tablet form. * Have completed any prior chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody or immunotherapy (e.g., tumor vaccine, cytokine, or growth factor given to control the cancer) at least 4 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is shorter) before study drug administration. Exceptions to these prior therapy timeframes are possible, on a case by case basis, following discussion and mutual agreement between Investigator and Sponsor. * Adverse effects related to prior anticancer therapies must have either returned to baseline or resolved to Grade 0 or 1. Some toxicities with higher grades such as alopecia, immunotherapy-induced hypothyroidism or adrenal insufficiency or panhypopituitarism requiring stable doses of hormone replacement therapy or rash from prior therapy may be permitted with medical monitor approval. Exclusion Criteria: * Received anticancer therapy with radiation, immunotherapy, a biologic, surgery and/or tumor embolization within the past 2 weeks or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer). * Currently pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant during the course of study. * The Fridericia Corrected QT (QTcF) interval ≥ 480 msec. * Class II, III, or IV heart failure as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system (Section 14.8); or presence of clinically significant and uncontrolled cardiac disease, as assessed by the investigator. Such as but not limited to: symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina, cardiac arrhythmia. * Unstable or uncompensated respiratory, hepatic, renal, or cardiac disease that would compromise the participant's safety or interfere with assessment of the drug. * Psychological, familial, sociological, geographical or other concurrent conditions that would interfere with safety evaluation, limit the participant's ability to follow the procedures in the protocol or otherwise jeopardize compliance with the protocol. Participants with uncontrolled major depression, bipolar disorder, or severe anxiety disorder are excluded. * Participants have multiple factors that affect their oral medication (such as inability to swallow and intestinal obstruction or resection). * Participants have long-term unhealed wounds or fractures. * Participants have uncontrolled pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, or ascites that still require repeated drainage. * Any current medical conditions, including impairment of GI function or GI disease, which would alter the absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion of VMD-102 including but not limited to: * Severe uncontrolled nausea or vomiting. * Severe uncontrolled diarrhea or ongoing active diarrhea requires medications (e.g. bile acid sequestrant, loperamide). * A history of short bowel syndrome; irritable bowel syndrome with diarrheal signs/symptoms or require medications. * Clinically diagnosed malabsorption secondary to bowel resection. * Active Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease requiring medication for control. * Surgical procedures of the GI tract impacting the drug absorption such as but not limited to small bowel resection and gastric bypass. * Unstable central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Participants with previously treated brain metastases may participate provided they are stable (without evidence of progression by imaging for at least one cycle prior to the first dose and any neurologic symptoms have returned to baseline), have no evidence of new or enlarging brain metastases, and are on stable doses of steroids for at least one cycle prior to the first dose. * Known fibrolamellar HCC, sarcomatoid HCC or mixed cholangiocarcinoma and HCC or HCC due to cirrhosis caused from autoimmune-associated hepatitis. * Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive with detectable the hepatitis B virus load (HBV DNA) \>100 IU/mL. Participants on active HBV therapy with viral loads \<100 IU/mL should stay on the same therapy throughout study intervention and at least 12 weeks after the study is over. Participants cannot be actively co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV; HCV RNA detectable) or hepatitis delta virus (HDV; HDV RNA detectable). * Positive HBsAg, with or without detectable HBV DNA, if there is evidence in the medical history of an advanced stage of cirrhosis ( Child-Pugh B) or history of decompensated chronic liver disease * HCV antibody (HCVAb) positive and HCV viral load (HCV RNA) detectable. Previous HCVAb positive with HCV RNA undetectable due to treatment (DAAs or interferon) is allowed but the treated participants must have completed their treatment at least 12 weeks prior to starting study intervention and HCV RNA must be documented at below the limit of quantification. * History of allogeneic tissue/organ transplantation (including bone marrow, stem cell, liver, or kidney transplants), except those that do not require immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., corneal or hair transplants). * Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or any live attenuated vaccine within 4 weeks of study entry. * Participants with active alcohol and/or substances abuse, Phosphatidylethanol (Peth) must be \<50 ng/mL). * Concurrent secondary malignancy other than that being treated in this study. Exceptions to this exclusion include malignancies treated curatively and have not recurred within 2 years prior to study entry or tumors treated with curative intent that have expected cure rates of \>90% such as but not limited to: basal cell and squamous skin cancer and completely resected carcinoma in situs. * Participants have uncontrolled pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, or ascites that still require repeated drainage. Exception may be possible, on a case by case basis, e.g. if no more than one paracentesis in a month and a drain is pre-placed for the participant to drain, following discussion and mutual agreement between Investigator and Sponsor * Participants have long-term unhealed wounds or fractures. * Participants receiving known potent P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter inhibitors that cannot be discontinued 3 days prior to the start of study treatment and during the course of the Phase 1 study. * Known immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reaction or idiosyncrasy to the study drug, or excipients. * Known history of uncontrolled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. * Any other condition that, in the opinion of the Investigator or the medical monitor, could increase the risk to the participant, interfere with study participation, or affect the proper interpretation of study results and objectives. Such conditions may include but are not limited to, active infections, uncontrolled diabetes, psychiatric illness, social situations, and concomitant therapies.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Show contact details
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Locations
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HonorHealth Research Institute
RECRUITINGScottsdale, Arizona, 85258, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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