AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTV), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing targeted radiotherapeutics with advanced platform technologies for central nervous system (CNS) cancers, today announced that is has appointed Mr. Russell Bradley as the President and General Manager of its wholly-owned subsidiary, CNSide Diagnostics, LLC. Furthermore, Plus has also appointed Dr. Marc Hedrick, Mr. Rick Hawkins, and Mr. Russell Bradley to the CNSide Board of Directors, and Dr. Jonathan Stein has been named CNSide Medical Director.
“On behalf of Plus and the CNSide board of directors, I am extremely pleased to welcome Russ Bradley to lead CNSide Diagnostics,” said Marc H. Hedrick, Plus Therapeutics President and Chief Executive Officer. “Russ is a seasoned and experienced operator across the diagnostic landscape and will make an immediate impact on CNSide as we begin a pilot market introduction this quarter.”
Russ Bradley brings over 30 years of leadership experience in diagnostics and life sciences, having held senior executive roles at Abbott Laboratories, Luminex Corporation, and Beckman Coulter. Throughout his career, he has successfully launched and scaled market-leading diagnostic platforms, developed global growth strategies, and led business transformations.
“In recent months, through conversations with leading neuro-oncologists and the teams at Plus Therapeutics and CNSide Diagnostics, the urgent need for improved tools to test for and treat leptomeningeal disease has become abundantly clear,” said Mr. Bradley. “I am excited to take on this role and build upon the substantial progress achieved by the team over the last nine months. Our immediate priority is to fully capitalize CNSide Diagnostics to support our early access and initial launch plans in the U.S.”
Dr. Jonathan Stein, CNSide’s new Medical Director, is a clinical laboratory executive with over 20 years of expertise in molecular diagnostics, assay development, and regulatory compliance. He has led multiple labs as Chief Science Officer and Medical Director, advancing oncology testing. Previously, he served as Medical Director at Gene By Gene and as a Research Investigator at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
About Leptomeningeal Metastases (LM)
LM is a rare complication of cancer in which the primary cancer spreads to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and leptomeninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. All malignancies originating from solid tumors, primary brain tumors, or hematological malignancies have this LM complication potential with breast cancer as the most common cancer linked to LM, with 3-5% of breast cancer patients developing LM. Additionally, lung cancer, GI cancers and melanoma can also spread to the CSF and result in LM. LM occurs in approximately 5% of people with cancer and is usually terminal with 1-year and 2-year survival of just 7% and 3%, respectively. The incidence of LM is on the rise, partly because cancer patients are living longer and partly because many standard chemotherapies cannot reach sufficient concentrations in the spinal fluid to kill the tumor cells, yet there are no FDA-approved therapies specifically for LM patients, who often succumb to this complication within weeks to several months, if untreated.
About CNSide Diagnostic, LLC
CNSide Diagnostics, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Plus Therapeutics, Inc. that develops and commercializes proprietary laboratory-developed tests, such as CNSide, designed to identify tumor cells that have metastasized to the central nervous system in patients with carcinomas and melanomas. The CNSide™ LDT Platform enables quantitative analysis and molecular characterization of tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid that inform and improve the management of patients with leptomeningeal metastases. The Company is planning to commercialize CNSide in the U.S. in 2025.
About CNSide Test
The CNSide Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Platform consists of four laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) used for treatment selection and treatment monitoring of patients with Leptomeningeal Metastases (LM) from carcinomas or melanoma. The CNSide platform facilitates tumor cell detection/enumeration and biomarker identification using cellular assays (immunocytochemistry (ICC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)) and molecular assays (next-generation sequencing (NGS)). The CNSide CSF tumor cell enumeration LDT is currently being used in the ReSPECT-LM trial as an exploratory endpoint and will be commercially available in 2025. The product is intended “For Research Use Only. Not for Use in Diagnostic Procedures.” RUO products cannot make any claims related to safety, effectiveness or diagnostic utility, and they cannot be intended for human clinical diagnostic use.
About Plus Therapeutics
Plus Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing targeted radiotherapeutics for difficult-to-treat cancers of the central nervous system with the potential to enhance clinical outcomes for patients. Combining image-guided local beta radiation and targeted drug delivery approaches, the Company is advancing a pipeline of product candidates with lead programs in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) and leptomeningeal metastases (LM). The Company has built a supply chain through strategic partnerships that enable the development, manufacturing and future potential commercialization of its products. Plus Therapeutics is led by an experienced and dedicated leadership team and has operations in key cancer clinical development hubs, including Austin and San Antonio, Texas. For more information, visit https://plustherapeutics.com/.
