Karyopharm Announces Submission of Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for Selinexor for the Treatment of Patients with Penta-Refractory Multiple Myeloma

On January 8, 2019 Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, reported that it has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for selinexor, the Company’s first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compound, requesting conditional approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) who have received at least three prior lines of therapy and whose disease is refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor (PI), one immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), and one anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody (mAb), and to their most recent treatment regimen (penta-refractory MM) (Press release, Karyopharm, JAN 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234532591]). Karyopharm also announced that the selinexor MAA has been granted accelerated assessment by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

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"The MAA submission for selinexor is an important milestone for Karyopharm and the CHMP’s granting of accelerated assessment further underscores the urgent need to improve outcomes for patients with highly refractory multiple myeloma," said Sharon Shacham, PhD, MBA, Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Karyopharm. "The results from the pivotal Phase 2b STORM study provide compelling evidence that selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone has the potential to be an effective new treatment option for patients with this difficult to treat disease. With the filing of the MAA and an accelerated assessment designation from the EMA, we hope to make oral selinexor available as quickly as possible to patients throughout Europe."

An accelerated assessment is granted to products deemed by the CHMP to be of major interest for public health and represent therapeutic innovation. Accelerated assessments can reduce the active review time of an MAA from the standard 210 days down to 150 days once it has been validated by the EMA. Selinexor has also previously received orphan designation in multiple myeloma from the EMA.

A New Drug Application (NDA) seeking accelerated approval for oral selinexor with low dose dexamethasone as a treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma is under Priority Review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with an action date of April 6, 2019, under the Prescription Drug User-Fee Act (PDUFA).

About Selinexor

Selinexor is a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compound. Selinexor functions by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 (also called CRM1), leading to the accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins in the cell nucleus. This reinitiates and amplifies their tumor suppressor function and is believed to lead to the selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, while largely sparing normal cells. In 2018, Karyopharm reported positive data from the Phase 2b STORM study evaluating selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone in patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. Selinexor has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in multiple myeloma and Fast Track designation for the patient population evaluated in the STORM study. Karyopharm’s New Drug Application (NDA) has been accepted for filing and granted Priority Review by the FDA, and oral selinexor is currently under review by the FDA as a possible new treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. The Company has also submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) with a request for conditional approval and was granted accelerated assessment. Selinexor is also being evaluated in several other mid-and later-phase clinical trials across multiple cancer indications, including in multiple myeloma in a pivotal, randomized Phase 3 study in combination with Velcade (bortezomib) and low-dose dexamethasone (BOSTON), as a potential backbone therapy in combination with approved therapies (STOMP), in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (SADAL), liposarcoma (SEAL), and an investigator-sponsored study in endometrial cancer (SIENDO), among others. Additional Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies are ongoing or currently planned, including multiple studies in combination with approved therapies in a variety of tumor types to further inform Karyopharm’s clinical development priorities for selinexor. Additional clinical trial information for selinexor is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

BerGenBio to present company overview at Biotech Showcase 2019 during annual J.P. Morgan Conference in San Francisco

On January 8, 2019 BerGenBio ASA (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of first-in-class AXL kinase inhibitors to treat multiple cancer indications, reported that the Company will be presenting a corporate overview at the Biotech Showcase 2019 in San Francisco today at 10:00 am PST (Press release, BerGenBio, JAN 8, 2019, https://www.bergenbio.com/bergenbio-to-present-company-overview-at-biotech-showcase-2019-during-annual-j-p-morgan-conference-in-san-francisco/ [SID1234532590]).

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The presentation will webcast live and the presentation is available for download at the Company’s website: www.bergenbio.com/investors/presentations/

Details for the presentation are as follows:

Biotech Showcase
Date: Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Time: 10:00 am PST
Room: Franciscan A (Ballroom Level)
Venue: Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel, 333 O’Farrell Street

END

Contact
Richard Godfrey, CEO, BerGenBio ASA
+47 917 86 304

Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
[email protected]
+47 917 86 513

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

OBI Pharma, Inc. to Present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On January 8, 2019 OBI Pharma, Inc., a Taiwan biopharma company (TPEx: 4174), reported that Amy Huang, General Manager, will present a company overview at the 37th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. PST/12 noon EST, in San Francisco, CA (Press release, OBI Pharma, JAN 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234532589]).

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Cellular Biomedicine Group Initiates Patient Recruitment for Clinical Trial in B Cell Maturation Antigen (Anti-BCMA) Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) Therapy Targeting Multiple Myeloma (MM)

On January 8, 2019 Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CBMG) ("CBMG" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical firm engaged in the development of immunotherapies for cancer and stem cell therapies for degenerative diseases, reported the initiation of patient recruitment to support the study of anti-BCMA CAR-T therapy targeting relapsed and refractory Multiple Myeloma in China (Press release, Cellular Biomedicine Group, JAN 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234532588]).

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"China has seen a substantial increase in the incidence of Multiple Myeloma. As a drug development company, BCMA is the first of multiple assets that CBMG is advancing amongst our oncology pipeline beyond our collaboration with a global leader in cell therapy," commented Tony (Bizuo) Liu, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "We plan to provide updates in the near future on the progress of our other proprietary technologies, including anti-CD22 and anti-CD20 CAR-T targeting relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) patients post anti-CD19 CAR-T treatment, Alpha Fetoprotein T-cell Receptor (AFP-TCR-T) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma, and next generation Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other solid tumor indications. We hope to be able to provide expeditious, safe and effective therapies to cancer patients who currently have limited treatment options."

About the Study
This Phase I clinical study will enroll 22 patients to evaluate the safety and efficacy of C-CAR088 (anti-BCMA Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell therapy) in patients with relapsed and/or refractory Multiple Myeloma.

About Multiple Myeloma in China
It is estimated that there are 27,800 new cases of Multiple Myeloma, a cancer derived from plasma cells, diagnosed in China each year. With the acceleration of the aging process in China, it is predicted that Multiple Myeloma, with a rapid growth in incidence, will become one of the more significant diseases that affect people’s health in the country. (Source: Blood Cancer J. 2014 Aug 15;4:e239. doi: 10.1038/bcj.2014.55)

Cambridge Epigenetix announces programme for routine screening and detection of colorectal cancer and other common tumours

On January 8, 2019 Cambridge Epigenetix Ltd, a pioneer in the development and application of epigenetic technologies, reported its discovery and development programme for a test to detect colorectal and other cancers (Press release, Cambridge Epigenetix, JAN 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234532587]). This follows completion of a c. $30 million funding round, as well as the acquisition of exclusive patent rights for its epigenetic sequencing platform.

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Epigenetic changes act as a control layer for the genome and can alter gene expression, but not the genetic code itself. These alterations may involve the presence of small chemical groups on the building blocks, or nucleotide bases, which make up DNA. DNA from cancer cells has a distinct epigenetic signature, and this is the basis for the use of epigenetic tests in cancer testing.

"The global burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is expected to increase by 60% to more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030,"1 stated Dr David Johnson MD, MACG, FASGE, MACP, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, who serves as a member of the company’s clinical advisory board. "Detection of CRC remains a challenge, and the availability of a non-invasive, easy-to-administer and affordable screening test as our first initiative could transform the diagnosis, detection and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions and CRC." Dr Johnson has previously been President of the American College of Gastroenterology and has played a pivotal role in shaping the dialogue around colon cancer screening and early detection. He was instrumental in putting through the historic first legislation to mandate colon cancer screening using colonoscopy as the preferred standard in the state of Virginia, USA.

In support of its mission, the company has been granted broad and exclusive patent rights (US Patent number 10,041,938) for the use of epigenetic modification 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) as a diagnostic biomarker for cancer. Cambridge Epigenetix is using proprietary technology for analysing 5hmC in circulating free DNA (cfDNA) to develop a test for detection of CRC. The company is currently conducting a large discovery study with over 2,000 patient samples, including healthy volunteers, and individuals with adenomas and all stages of CRC. This study follows encouraging preliminary results from profiling 5hmC in over 200 CRC and healthy volunteer cfDNA samples.2 Several independent studies have indicated that measuring 5hmC in plasma circulating cfDNA is effective for non-invasive cancer detection. 3,4

Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, co-founder of Cambridge Epigenetix, FRS, FMedSci, Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, said: "Cambridge Epigenetix’s 5hmC platform analyses some of the earliest markers of cancer development in patients’ blood samples to detect disease. Ultimately, our aim is to develop a diagnostic test that can detect multiple cancers from one standard blood draw."

The latest round of secured funding will advance the company’s proprietary technology platform, which enables the sensitive and specific detection of epigenetic biomarkers for cancer in blood and other liquid biopsy samples. Ahren Innovation Capital (UK) led the funding round with current US-based supporters GV, New Sciences Ventures and Sequoia Capital. Additionally, new investors – including DNA Capital (Brazil) – also participated, bringing the total amount raised by the company since founding to $56.5 million.

Alice Newcombe-Ellis, Founder & Managing Partner, Ahren Innovation Capital, said: "Cancer detection through liquid biopsy has the possibility of transforming human health. Our investment will help Cambridge Epigenetix build on its strong intellectual property foundation, based on the research conducted by Sir Shankar Balasubramanian and Professor Anjana Rao."

Cambridge Epigenetix also announces the appointment of Dr Suman Shirodkar, MBBS, PhD as the CEO of the company. Dr Shirodkar has extensive leadership experience in the industry and will lead the next phase of development of the diagnostic test. Prior to joining Cambridge Epigenetix, Dr Shirodkar led product teams in oncology, HIV, and cardiovascular medicine at Pfizer and Novartis.

"It is a very exciting time to be leading Cambridge Epigenetix" commented Dr Suman Shirodkar. "Our ability to detect 5hmC in circulating, cell-free DNA, and the discovery and development of a liquid biopsy signature for tumours, could revolutionise cancer care and decrease cancer mortality through widespread screening, early detection and timely intervention. I am excited to lead the talented team at Cambridge Epigenetix for the development and launch of the first of many tests to detect cancer".