{"entity":{"id":"abenacianine","kind":"drug","name":"Abenacianine","aka":["VGT-309"],"tldr":"Abenacianine is an experimental tumour-targeted fluorescent imaging agent from Vergent Bioscience, in phase 3 trials for lung cancer and lung metastases.","summary":"Abenacianine (VGT-309) is a tumour-targeted fluorescent imaging agent (quenched activity-based probe) from Vergent Bioscience. An injected imaging agent that binds cathepsin proteases, which are overexpressed in many solid tumours; it only fluoresces once activated by cathepsin activity, so tumours glow under near-infrared light during surgery. Its furthest stage is phase 3, for lung cancer and lung metastases. ClinicalTrials.gov registers it in 4 studies linked below. Phase 3 VISUALIZE-2 (NCT07499674) recruiting; phase 2 (NCT05400226) and phase 2b (NCT06145048) completed. Whether it works in people has not been established unless a trial below reports it.","status":"phase-3","asOf":"2026-11-03","links":[{"label":"Vergent Bioscience: vergentbio.com","url":"https://www.vergentbio.com/technology"},{"label":"Vergent Bioscience: vergentbio.com","url":"https://www.vergentbio.com/"},{"label":"Vergent Bioscience: clinicaltrials.gov","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05400226"},{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov: trials of VGT-309","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?intr=VGT-309"}],"tags":["pipeline","ctgov-ingest"],"related":[],"cancers":["lung-cancer"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":["ctss"],"drugs":[],"companies":["vergent-bioscience"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["nct07499674","nct06145048","nct05400226","nct06034197"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"provenance":{"editedBy":"OnCo gap audit, class 5 (company pipeline pages and ClinicalTrials.gov v2)","editedOn":"2026-11-03"},"code":"VGT-309","modality":"Tumour-targeted fluorescent imaging agent (quenched activity-based probe)","mechanism":"An injected imaging agent that binds cathepsin proteases, which are overexpressed in many solid tumours; it only fluoresces once activated by cathepsin activity, so tumours glow under near-infrared light during surgery.","approvals":[],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/abenacianine/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"lung-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Lung cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/lung-cancer/"}],"target":[{"id":"ctss","kind":"target","name":"CTSS","route":"/targets/ctss/"}],"company":[{"id":"vergent-bioscience","kind":"company","name":"Vergent Bioscience","route":"/companies/vergent-bioscience/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct07499674","kind":"trial","name":"Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Abenacianine (VGT-309) to Identify Cancer in Subjects Undergoing Surgery for Cancer in the Lung","route":"/trials/nct07499674/"},{"id":"nct06034197","kind":"trial","name":"Fluorescent Probe VGT-309 to ID Cancerous Colorectal Lesions During Augmented Colonoscopy","route":"/trials/nct06034197/"},{"id":"nct05400226","kind":"trial","name":"Phase 2 Study of VGT-309 in Lung Cancer","route":"/trials/nct05400226/"},{"id":"nct06145048","kind":"trial","name":"Phase 2B Safety and Efficacy Study of VGT-309 in Subjects With Cancer in the Lung.","route":"/trials/nct06145048/"}]}}