‘Dream come true’: Tumor Paint BLZ-100 gets go-ahead for first U.S. trial

A new protein-linked dye derived from scorpion venom that lights up cancer cells so surgeons can precisely target brain tumors will get a trial run in the U.S., Blaze Bioscience Inc. officials announced Thursday.

Food and Drug Administration officials have approved an investigational new drug application, or IND, for Tumor Paint BLZ-100, a molecule discovered and first developed by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington.

“I think it really is a dream come true – to be outdone only by seeing these cancers light up in patients,” said Dr. Jim Olson, a Fred Hutch pediatric brain cancer expert who pioneered the notion of targeting tumors with fluorescent dye to help surgeons distinguish healthy cells from malignancies.

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