Month: March 2017

Numab and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Enter into a Research and Option Agreement

On March 28, 2017 Numab Therapeutics AG ("Numab") reported a research and option agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Ono") for the identification of a multi-specific antibody candidate for development in immuno-oncology (Press release, Numab, MAR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234525266]).

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"We are extremely pleased to start our collaboration with Ono, a company with a track record of scientific excellence and innovation, and that most recently made its mark by launching a new era in cancer treatment with the development of the first anti-PD-1 antibody, Nivolumab/Opdivo."

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Under the agreement, Ono will obtain an option to acquire intellectual property rights to, and exclusive rights to develop and commercialize, the selected lead compound to be generated through this collaboration, which will exploit one of Ono’s novel therapeutic approaches in immuno-oncology. In exchange Numab will receive research funding and up to CHF 258 million in upfront and milestone payments plus tiered single to double digit royalties on sales.

Oliver Middendorp co-CEO of Numab, said: "We are extremely pleased to start our collaboration with Ono, a company with a track record of scientific excellence and innovation, and that most recently made its mark by launching a new era in cancer treatment with the development of the first anti-PD-1 antibody, Nivolumab/Opdivo."

Hiromu Habashita, Corporate Officer, and Executive Director of Discovery & Research of Ono, said: "We highly value the capabilities of Numab’s multi-specific antibody platform. It is robust, and optimized to reproducibly yield product candidates with outstanding binding properties. We believe it is ideally suited to fuel our immuno-oncology drug discovery and consequently a multi-specific antibody to be generated through this collaboration will provide hope to sufferers of cancer."

XOMA to Present Preclinical Data from its PTH1R Monoclonal Antibodies Program at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting

On March 28, 2017 XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq:XOMA), a pioneer in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, reported the presentation of data from its PTH1R Monoclonal Antibodies Program (Press release, Xoma, MAR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234518318]). The poster, which reports data from a pre-clinical study investigating the efficacy of the Company’s anti-PTH1R antagonist monoclonal antibody in reversing hypercalcemia, will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting, April 1-5, 2017, in Washington, DC.

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Hypercalcemia is relatively common in patients with cancer, occurring in up to 30 percent of casesi. Hypercalcemia often occurs in patients with both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies due to release of a protein that activates the parathyroid hormone receptor (PTH1R) thereby leading to potentially dangerous calcium levels. Malignancy often is evident clinically by the time it causes hypercalcemia, and those patients often have a poor prognosis.

“Our PTH1R program began as an endocrine program, but because of its unique mechanism-of-action we believe it is also potentially beneficial to oncology patients suffering from hypercalcemia,” said Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer of XOMA. “We seek partners who have a deep commitment to and expertise in drug development. We believe our PTH1R program could join the other antibodies in our extensive licensing portfolio of fully funded programs that are being advanced by partner companies to benefit patients suffering from a wide range of health conditions.”

Poster Presentation Details
Abstract Title: Impacting Humoral Hypercalcemia of Malignancy (HHM) and associated PTH1R-mediated morbidities: Characterization of an anti-PTH1R antagonist monoclonal antibody to reverse hypercalcemia

Session: Late-Breaking Research (LB-306): Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 2
Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2017, 8:00am to 12:00pm ET
Location: Poster Section 34, Board 14

For additional information, please visit the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) website: www.aacr.org.

About XOMA’s PTH1R Monoclonal Antibodies Program
XOMA has developed several unique functional antibody antagonists targeting PTH1R, a G-protein-coupled receptor involved in the regulation of calcium metabolism. These antibodies have shown promising efficacy in in vivo studies and potentially could address high unmet medical needs, including primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM).

HHM is present in many advanced cancers and is caused by high serum calcium due to increased levels of the PTH1R ligand PTH-related peptide (PTHrP). Since current HHM treatments often fall short and many cancer patients die from ‘metabolic death’, PTH1R antibodies could prove beneficial for the treatment of HHM.

Asana BioSciences highlights progress in its Oncology portfolio with new data at AACR 2017 on ASN002, ASN003 and ASN004

On March 27, 2017 Asana BioSciences, LLC, an oncology focused, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, reported that it will be presenting preclinical data regarding three of its lead molecules at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting being held in Washington, DC, April 1-5, 2017 (Press release, Asana BioSciences, MAR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234518302]).

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The presentation details are as follows:

1. ASN002:

A novel dual SYK/JAK inhibitor with strong antitumor activity in both hematological and solid tumor xenograft models
Abstract #: 4204; Location: Section PO.ET06.06, Poster Board Number 27
Authors: S.P. Reddy, N. Rao, D. Zammit, S.K. Thompson, R.A. Smith, L. Denis
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 1:00pm – 5:00pm EDT

2. ASN003:
A highly selective inhibitor of B-Raf and PI3 kinases, shows strong antitumor activity in B-Raf inhibitor resistant patient-derived xenograft models
Abstract #: 158; Location: Section PO.ET06.08, Poster Board Number 25
Authors: S.K. Thompson, R.A. Smith, N. Rao, M.J. Wick, S.P. Reddy
Date/Time: Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 1:00pm – 5:00pm EDT

3. ASN004:
A novel 5T4-targeted Dolaflexin ADC, achieves complete regressions and tumor-free survivors in a broad variety of solid tumor models
Abstract #: 43; Location: Section PO.ET07.01, Poster Board Number 24
Authors: R.A. Smith, D.J. Zammit, S.P. Reddy
Date/Time: Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 1:00pm – 5:00pm EDT
ASN002 is a potent inhibitor of spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) and Janus kinases (JAK). These kinases are involved in both cytokine production and signaling and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various types of lymphomas, solid tumors, myeloproliferative and inflammation disorders. Potent anti-proliferative activity of ASN002 in a broad panel of cell lines and inhibition of tumor growth in animal models, representing both lymphoma/leukemia and solid tumors, will be presented. As well, the antiproliferative activity of ASN002 in ibrutinib-resistant cell lines will be discussed. ASN002 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical study in patients with lymphomas (DLBCL, mantle cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma) and solid tumors.

ASN003 is a potent and highly selective inhibitor of both B-RAF and PI3 kinases. Preclinical data with ASN003, demonstrating broad anti-proliferative activity in tumor cell lines and strong tumor growth inhibition in tumor xenograft models, including B-RAF inhibitor resistant models, will be presented. ASN003 is currently in Phase I clinical development in patients with advanced solid tumors, including melanoma, colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. ASN003 shows the potential to be developed as monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors or standard of care.

ASN004 is an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) that targets the 5T4 oncofetal antigen (trophoblast glycoprotein) that is expressed in a wide range of malignant tumors, while very limited expression is found in normal tissues. Preclinical data will be presented, demonstrating robust antitumor activity of ASN004 leading to complete tumor regressions in multiple human tumor xenograft models and lack of development of resistance to ASN004 treatment. ASN004 is currently in preclinical development and the IND-enabling studies are scheduled to be completed in the second half of this year.

OncoSec to Present Preclinical Data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2017

On March 28, 2017 OncoSec Medical Incorporated ("OncoSec") (NASDAQ: ONCS), a company developing DNA-based intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, reported it will present preclinical results from recent studies describing the latest developments of its gene delivery platform, at a poster session at the upcoming American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, in Washington, D.C., on April 1- 5, 2017 (Press release, OncoSec Medical, MAR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234518300]).

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Details of the poster abstract are as follows:

Abstract Title: Intratumoral Delivery of a P2A-linked Bicistronic IL-12 Construct Leads to High Intratumoral Expression and Systemic Anti-tumor Response (Abstract ID #: 1614)
Session Title: Cytokines: The First Modern Immunotherapies
Date and Time: Monday, April 3, 2017 / 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Location: Convention Center, Halls A – C, Poster Section 26
Further details on the poster presentation will be provided in upcoming Company communications. For more information about this conference, please visit: www.aacr.org.

Ignyta Announces Multiple Presentations at the 2017 AACR Annual Meeting

On March 28, 2017 Ignyta, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXDX), a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in oncology, reported three data presentations at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) in Washington, D.C (Press release, Ignyta, MAR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234518298]).

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Two poster presentations will include new preclinical data on the immuno-oncology therapeutic capabilities of RXDX-106, which represents a novel class of immunomodulatory agents that appears to restore innate immunity in preclinical models via potent inhibition of the TYRO3, AXL and MER (or TAM) family of receptors.

Additionally, the company will present its first ever data from molecularly targeting hematological malignancies with entrectinib – an orally available, CNS-active tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting tumors that harbor TRK, ROS1 or ALK fusions – in previously unexplored, molecularly defined acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Entrectinib is currently being studied in a registration-enabling Phase 2 clinical trial known as STARTRK-2.

"We are excited to participate in this year’s AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and provide key program updates on multiple compounds from across our precision medicine pipeline," said Pratik Multani, M.D., Ignyta’s Chief Medical Officer. "In particular, we look forward to highlighting RXDX-106’s promising immuno-oncology potential and our first entrectinib data in hematological malignancies."

Details of the presentations are as follows:

Poster Presentations:

RXDX-106

Title:
Immuno-oncological efficacy of RXDX-106, a novel, selective and potent small molecule TAM (TYRO3, AXL, MER) inhibitor (Abstract number 4698)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Title:
RXDX-106, a novel, selective and potent small molecule TAM (TYRO3, AXL, MER) inhibitor, demonstrates efficacy in TAM-driven tumors (Abstract number 4191)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Entrectinib

Title:
Anti-tumor activity of entrectinib, a highly potent pan-TRK, ROS1 and ALK inhibitor, in molecularly defined acute myeloid leukemia (Abstract number 5158)

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 5, 2017, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
A copy of the posters will be made available during the sessions in the Scientific Presentations section of the company’s website at View Source, and will be archived and available at that site.