On January 5, 2021 Myovant Sciences (NYSE: MYOV), a healthcare company focused on redefining care for women and for men, reported that ORGOVYX (relugolix), the first and only oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced prostate cancer, is now available through authorized specialty distributors (Press release, Myovant Sciences, JAN 5, 2021, https://investors.myovant.com/news-releases/news-release-details/myovant-sciences-announces-us-availability-orgovyxtm-treatment [SID1234573493]).

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"Myovant has been focused on ensuring access to ORGOVYX for men with advanced prostate cancer as quickly as possible following approval, and we are delighted to announce that it is now available," said David Marek, chief executive officer of Myovant Sciences, Inc. "As part of our commitment to redefine care for women and for men, this is a critical step as we work to bring about a new standard of care for men with advanced prostate cancer."

ORGOVYX was approved by the FDA on December 18, 2020. Myovant is committed to ensuring that men in the U.S. who are prescribed ORGOVYX can achieve fair and timely access and receive the support they may need throughout their treatment journey. As part of this commitment, Myovant has launched the ORGOVYX Support Program which provides insurance verifications, prior authorizations, copay support for commercially-insured patients, free trial for up to two months of therapy, and patient assistance for qualifying uninsured patients. For more information, please contact 833-ORGOVYX (833-674-6899), 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday–Friday.

About ORGOVYX (relugolix)
ORGOVYX (relugolix) is the first and only oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with advanced prostate cancer. As a GnRH antagonist, ORGOVYX blocks the GnRH receptor and reduces production of testicular testosterone, a hormone known to stimulate the growth of prostate cancer.

For full prescribing information, including patient information, please click here.

Indication

ORGOVYX is approved for the treatment of adult patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Select Important Safety Information

Androgen deprivation therapy, such as ORGOVYX, may prolong the QT/QTc interval. Providers should consider whether the benefits of androgen deprivation therapy outweigh the potential risks in patients with congenital long QT syndrome, congestive heart failure, or frequent electrolyte abnormalities and in patients taking drugs known to prolong the QT interval. Electrolyte abnormalities should be corrected. Consider periodic monitoring of electrocardiograms and electrolytes.

The safety and efficacy of ORGOVYX have not been established in females. Based on findings in animals and mechanism of action, ORGOVYX can cause fetal harm and loss of pregnancy when administered to a pregnant female. Advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment and for 2 weeks after the last dose of ORGOVYX.

Most common adverse reactions (≥ 10%) in patients receiving ORGOVYX were hot flush (54%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), fatigue (26%), constipation (12%), and diarrhea (12%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (≥ 15%) in patients receiving ORGOVYX were glucose increased (44%), triglycerides increased (35%), hemoglobin decreased (28%), alanine aminotransferase increased (27%), and aspartate aminotransferase increased (18%).

Co-administration of ORGOVYX with a P-gp inhibitor increases the area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) of ORGOVYX, which may increase the risk of adverse reactions associated with ORGOVYX. Avoid co-administration of ORGOVYX with oral P-gp inhibitors. If co-administration is unavoidable, take ORGOVYX first, separate dosing by at least 6 hours, and monitor patients more frequently for adverse reactions.

Co-administration of ORGOVYX with a combined P-gp and strong CYP3A inducer decreases the AUC and Cmax of ORGOVYX, which may reduce the effects of ORGOVYX. Avoid co-administration of ORGOVYX with combined P-gp and strong CYP3A inducers. If co-administration is unavoidable, increase the ORGOVYX dose to 240 mg once daily.

On January 5, 2021 Vaccinex, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a differentiated approach to treating cancer and neurodegenerative disease through the inhibition of SEMA4D, reported that it will participate in the 10th Annual LifeSci Partners Corporate Access Event, January 6-8 and 11-14, 2021 (Press release, Vaccinex, JAN 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234573492]).

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Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D., President and CEO, will host 1×1 meetings and will present a corporate update on Wednesday, January 6th at 11am EST.

To register to listen to the presentation or to request a meeting, visit: View Source

On January 5, 2021 Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel products for serious rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, reported that Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., the company’s Chief Executive Officer and President, will present at the 39TH Annual J.P. Morgan Virtual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 2:50 pm EST (Press release, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, JAN 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234573491]).

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The live and archived webcast of the presentation will be accessible from the company’s website at View Source The replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days.

On January 5, 2021 Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted the partial clinical hold on the Company’s Phase 2 trial investigating the safety and efficacy of MT-401, Marker’s lead multi-tumor-associated antigen (MultiTAA)-specific T cell product candidate for the treatment of post-transplant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Press release, TapImmune, JAN 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234573490]).

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"We are pleased to move forward with our Phase 2 AML trial of MT-401, which we believe may provide a safe and effective treatment option for patients with post-transplant AML over the standard of care," said Mythili Koneru, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Marker Therapeutics. "During the partial clinical hold, we continued to open clinical centers to enroll patients in the first half of the safety lead-in of our Phase 2 trial. With the FDA’s decision, we will now be able to seamlessly enroll patients in the second half of the safety lead-in, as well as the remainder of the trial. We look forward to working with our clinical sites to continue enrolling patients."

The multicenter Phase 2 AML study is evaluating clinical efficacy of MT-401 in patients with AML in both the adjuvant and active disease setting, following an allogeneic stem-cell transplant. In the adjuvant setting, approximately 120 patients will be randomized 1:1 to either MT-401 at 90 days post-transplant versus standard-of-care observation, while about 40 patients with active disease will receive MT-401 as part of the single-arm group. The trial also includes a safety lead-in expected to enroll six patients.

The primary objectives of the trial are to evaluate relapse-free survival in the adjuvant group and determine the complete remission rate and duration of complete remission in active disease patients. Additional objectives include, for the adjuvant group, overall survival and graft-versus-host disease relapse-free survival while additional objectives for the active disease group include overall response rate, duration of response, progression-free survival and overall survival.

In April 2020, the FDA granted Orphan Drug designation to MT-401 for the treatment of patients with AML following allogeneic stem cell transplant.

On January 5, 2021 Replimune Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REPL), a biotechnology company developing oncolytic immuno-gene therapies derived from its Immulytic platform, reported it has dosed the first patient in a Phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation and expansion clinical trial of RP3 both alone and in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy (Press release, Replimune, JAN 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234573489]). RP3, Replimune’s third product candidate to enter clinical development, encodes for CD40L and 4-1BBL in addition to the GALV-GP R(-) fusogenic protein encoded in RP1 and the anti-CTLA-4 molecule encoded in RP2. Expression of CD40L and 4-1BBL are intended to further stimulate an anti-tumor immune response through immune co-stimulatory pathway activation.

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Replimune’s product candidates are designed to comprehensively activate an anti-tumor immune response to a patient’s cancer through the delivery of potent immune activating signals into the tumor, such that each of the stages of immune activation are maximized. The signals provided are (i) potent antigen release and presentation, so-called immunologic "Signal 1", provided by robust tumor destruction and immunogenic cell death through the use of the high potency oncolytic backbone expressing the GALV-GP R- fusogenic protein in all of our product candidates; (ii) the inhibition of signals which block full immune activation, provided by expression of anti-CTLA-4 in both RP2 and RP3; (iii) provision of potent immune co-stimulatory signals, so-called immunologic "Signal 2", provided by expression of CD40L and 4-1BBL in RP3; and (iv) the production of inflammatory cytokines, so-called immunologic "Signal 3", also intended to be stimulated by the expression of CD40L and 4-1BBL in RP3. RP3 therefore represents the culmination of this approach to date, and is intended to build on the compelling clinical data generated with RP1 and RP2, including in immune non-responsive tumor types.

"We are pleased to be advancing our third oncolytic immune-gene therapy into the clinic," said Robert Coffin, PhD, Founder, President and Chief Research & Development Officer of Replimune. "Having demonstrated the potential of our platform through positive clinical data readouts with both RP1 and RP2 in multiple tumor types, we have armed RP3 to express additional immune-activating proteins intended to further enhance the ability of our product candidates to treat less immune-responsive tumor types. We believe that the combined properties of RP3 are unique in the field of immune oncology and demonstrate the power of our platform to generate product candidates with multiple mechanisms of action which together potently activate a patient’s immune system against their cancer. We look forward to providing initial data with RP3, along with our other clinical programs over the course of 2021."

The Phase 1, dose-escalation clinical trial is currently enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors. The clinical trial is primarily designed to assess safety and tolerability of RP3 and to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose. Following dose selection, the second part of the clinical trial is intended to dose patients with RP3 in combination with anti-PD1 therapy to further assess for both safety and initial efficacy.