Belzupacap Sarotalocan

**Semantic type:** Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** A formulation composed of nanoparticles derived from the human papillomavirus (HPV-NPs) and conjugated to the infrared (IR)-activated fluorescent dye IR700 (IR-700), with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon intravitreal injection of belzupacap sarotalocan, the HPV-NPs target and bind to heparan-sulfated proteoglycans (HSPG) expressed by ocular melanoma cells. Upon irradiation with near-IR (NIR) light, the photosensitizer IR700 becomes activated, generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) and selectively damages the melanoma cell membrane, which induces necrosis of the melanoma cells while sparing the surrounding, healthy non-HSPG-expressing tissue, and potentially preserving vision. HSPGs are overexpressed on a variety of cancer cell types.

**Synonyms:** - AU-011 - BELZUPACAP SAROTALOCAN - HPV-NP AU-011 - Human Papillomavirus Virus-like Particles Conjugated with IR700 Dye AU-011 - Light-activated AU-011 - VNC AU-011 - Viral Nanoparticle Conjugates AU-011