Filtricine

Filtricine, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, that develops food-based products intended for disease control, with an initial focus on cancer care. Its approach rests on the observation that cancer cells require multiple non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) that are present in ordinary foods; the company formulates foods that omit these NEAAs while aiming to preserve the other nutrients required for normal nutrition.

The company's lead product line is Tality, a proprietary nutritional regimen of meal replacements sold in three formats — soups (10 flavors), shakes (7 flavors) and bars (4 flavors) — each positioned as nutritionally complete. Tality is under investigation in clinical studies and is offered to cancer patients, including through a company-sponsored trial. Filtricine is venture-backed.

Founding story

The company's founders discovered the Targeted Nutrients Deprivation concept during their research at Stanford University, subsequently formulating foods that exclude the non-essential amino acids cancer cells depend on.

Business model

Filtricine develops proprietary medical food products (the Tality meal-replacement line) and advances them through clinical investigation. Products are currently distributed to patients through a company-sponsored clinical trial and through an offer allowing cancer patients to try Tality for four weeks at no cost.

Traction

Filtricine sponsors an ongoing prostate cancer clinical trial at Stanford University School of Medicine. Early results reported that Tality was nutritionally complete and safe, and that three of ten participants experienced a decrease in PSA, including one participant with a 32% decrease from a baseline of 107.9. Preclinical results for the medical food technology were published in December 2021, and clinical results were presented at a Prostate Cancer Foundation retreat in November 2021.

Latest developments

In late 2021 Filtricine announced publication of preclinical results for its medical food technology and the presentation of clinical study results at a Prostate Cancer Foundation retreat; the sponsored prostate cancer trial at Stanford remains ongoing.