SurgiMab, a French company founded in 2011 in Montpellier, is developing antibody-fluorochrome conjugates as in vivo diagnostic agents in oncology. “Today we are pleased to announce that Montpellier Cancer Institute (ICM) has started patient inclusion in a phase I clinical trial for our most-advanced product, SGM-101.”
SGM-101 is a fluorescent conjugate comprised of a tumor-specific monoclonal antibody and a near-infrared emitting fluorochrome. With this molecule the goal is to provide oncology surgeons with an intraoperative imaging tool that will allow them to visualize tumors overexpressing carcinoembryonic antigen – colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, non-small cell lung and breast carcinomas for example. As a first indication, SGM-101 is being tested for the real-time visualization of infra-clinical size tumors during the surgical resection of peritoneal carcinomatosis originating from digestive malignancies.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of SGM-101 in patients suffering from peritoneal carcinomatosis and determine the recommended dose for the phase II clinical trials that should follow.
Among the exploratory objectives, however, is the assessment of the feasability of detection of neoplastic lesions for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis from digestive cancer.

Currently surgeons rely on visual appearance and palpation to discriminate between tumor and normal tissue, which may lead to incomplete resection of malignant tissue or unnecessary removal of healthy tissue. Since complete resection is a crucial factor in the prognosis of a patient, intraoperative imaging technologies are currently studied leading to the development of real-time image-guided surgery. SGM-101 should allow surgeons to visualize tumors in patients in order to more effectively delineate surgical margins and detect microscopic tumors to improve long-term outcomes. Thanks to its capacity to target several tumor types, SGM-101 should improve patient care in a variety of cancer pathologies among which colorectal, pancreas or gastric cancers.
More details on SurgiMab and ICM here.