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Aura Biosciences Announces First Patient Dosed in Global Phase 3 CoMpass Trial Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Belzupacap Sarotalocan (Bel-sar) for First-Line Treatment of Early-Stage Choroidal Melanoma
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aura Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: AURA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel class of virus-like drug conjugate

About this update from Aura Biosciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAura Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: AURA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel class of virus-like drug conjugate (VDC) therapies for multiple oncology indications, today announced the first patient has been dosed in the global Phase 3 CoMpass trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of bel-sar for the first-line treatment of adult patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma.\n\n\n“Dosing of the first patient in this global Phase 3 trial is a major milestone for Aura, and for patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma, a life-threatening rare disease with no approved targeted therapies,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aura. “With the SPA agreement from the FDA, and a strong endorsement from the ocular oncology community, we continue to move bel-sar closer to potentially being approved as a first-line vision preserving treatment for patients living with this disease.”\n\n\nThe CoMpass trial is designed as a superiority trial comparing bel-sar versus a sham control. The trial is a global Phase 3, randomized, multi-center, masked study, intended to enroll approximately 100 patients randomized 2:1:2 to receive high dose regimen of bel-sar, low dose regimen of bel-sar with suprachoroidal (SC) administration or a sham control. Aura received written agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the overall design of the CoMpass trial.\n\n\nAbout Aura Biosciences\n\n\nAura Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing VDCs, a novel class of therapies, for the treatment of multiple oncology indications. Aura’s lead VDC candidate, belzupacap sarotalocan (bel-sar; AU-011), consists of a virus-like particle conjugated with an anti-cancer agent. Bel-sar is designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells and activate the immune system with the potential to create long-lasting, anti-tumor immunity. Bel-sar is currently in development for ocular cancers, and Aura is enrolling patients in the global Phase 3 trial evaluating first-line treatment of early-stage choroidal melanoma, a vision- and life-threatening form of eye cancer where the standard of care with radiotherapy leaves patients with severe comorbidities, including significant vision loss. Aura plans to pursue developm...