Arix Bioscience's portfolio company, Aura Biosciences, has announced that the first patient has been dosed in the global Phase 3 CoMpass trial. The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of belzupacap sarotalocan (bel-sar) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma. Arix holds 1,508,483 shares in Aura. CEO of Arix, Robert Lyne, commented that the milestone is a great example of how Arix can support innovative biotech companies in bringing life-changing treatments to patients. Choroidal melanoma is a vision and life-threatening form of eye cancer where the standard of care with radiotherapy leaves patients with severe comorbidities, including significant vision loss. The trial is designed as a superiority trial comparing bel-sar versus a sham control. The trial is a global Phase 3, randomized, multi-center, masked study, intended to enroll approximately 100 patients randomized 2:1:2 to receive high dose regimen of bel-sar, low dose regimen of bel-sar with suprachoroidal (SC) administration or a sham control. Aura received written agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the overall design of the CoMpass trial.