Oncopeptides presents new scientific data at the Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting ASH

On December 12, 2022 Oncopeptides, a biotech company focused on research and development of therapies for difficult-to-treat hematological diseases, reported that the company presents new scientific data including one clinical abstract and three preclinical research posters at the Annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Meeting, ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper), in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on December 10-13 (Press release, Oncopeptides, DEC 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234646786]). The clinical abstract evaluated patients with multiple myeloma who were refractory to prior alkylators in the phase 3 OCEAN study. Data shows that melflufen is a safe and effective therapy in patients who are alkylator refractory, regardless of whether they received a prior autologous stem cell transplant or not.
The preclinical posters are based on the Company´s proprietary technology platforms for Peptide Drug Conjugate, PDC, and for NK-cell engagers, "Small Polypeptide based Killer Engagers", SPiKE and have been materialized through partnerships with leading research institutions in Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We are very pleased to present preclinical data for OPDC3, next generation drug candidate from our PDC-platform, which has demonstrated significant activity in various hematological malignancies,"says Klaas Bakker, MD, PhD, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer. "Notably, for the first time we are also able to present preclinical data from our affibody-based NK-cell engager, that has strong potential to selectively activate NK-cells in multiple myeloma and other potential hematological malignancies."

Below is a brief description of the abstracts that have been accepted by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper). The abstracts are available at:
View Source

Scientific abstracts First author Publication Disposition
OCEAN (OP-103) Melflufen/dexamethasone compared with pomalidomide/dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma – Subgroup analysis in patients refractory to prior alkylators F Schjesvold 5776 Abstract only
Potential role of NK cells and ABCB9 gene in melflufen resistance in multiple myeloma P. Sergeev 2673 Poster
The novel peptide drug conjugate OPDC3 is highly effective in different hematological malignancies J.J. Miettinen 4799 Poster
Affibody-based BCMA x CD-16 dual engagers for activation of NK-cells towards multiple myeloma K.A. Giang 4800 Poster

Polymed Biotech completed a new round of financing joint by Shaanxi Junying Jiacheng Pharmaceutical Industry Development Fund for developing PROTAC drugs

On December 12, 2022, Hangzhou Polymed Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou Polymed Biopharmaceuticals, hereinafter referred to as "Polymed") reported that it has received the funds from Shaanxi Junying Jiacheng Pharmaceutical Industry Development Fund Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shaanxi Junying Jiacheng Fund"), thus completing the new round of investment together with Cybernaut Investment and ZJKF Capital Management Co. , Ltd (ZJKF Capital) (Press release, Polymed Biopharmaceuticals, DEC 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234630626]). The funds obtained from this round of financing will be used to support the IND submission and clinical trial planning of the company’s two preclinical candidate compounds (PCCs).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Based in Hangzhou with offices in Shanghai an Boston, Polymed is focused on discovery and development of novel drugs for high unmet medical need in cancer and autoimmune disease. Polymed’s differentiated discovery platform is designed to tackle "undruggable" drug targets using bifunctional molecules especially PRTOACs. The core leadership team of Polymed consists of three experts with more than 20 years of experience working in top international pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Pfizer for new drug research and development. Polymed has established a rich product pipeline on PROTAC and small molecule inhibitors.

The company has also made a major breakthrough of bifunctional small molecule inhibitors. At present, a candidate compound with unique inhibition profile and excellent pharmaceutical properties has been established, and CMC work has been initiated. The new round of funding will enable the advancement of the preclinical program to the clinic, aiming at advancement of the lead programs to preclinical proof of concept and further development of the platform.

Dr. Jason Shaoyun Xiang, founder and CEO of Polymed, believes that the development of new PROTAC drugs is a disruptive technological innovation, and its potential impact may be comparable to that of therapeutic antibodies two decades ago and mRNA vaccines today, bringing about a wave of novel therapeutics. This disruptive technological breakthrough will undoubtedly bring great benefits to patients, and reward those visionary supporters. Dr. Xiang sincerely thanks the team of Saizhibole, Kefa and Matrix Partners for their firm trust in and support to Polymed. Polymed will make full use of its team experience and international advantages to rapidly advance the research and development progress of various projects, and strive to develop more efficacious therapeutics for patients as soon as possible.

Dr. Jia Guo, Managing Director of Shaanxi Junying Jiacheng Fund, said that PROTAC technology has once again illuminated the bright moment of small molecule drugs, making it possible to develop therapeutics for "undruggable targets". Under the leadership of Dr. Jason Shaoyun Xiang, Polymed has built a dual technology platform of PROTAC and multifunctional molecules, developed a rich product pipeline, and obtained remarkable experimental data that may foretell its therapeutic value in clinical trials. Polymed is a rare innovative company in China that is comparable to the international peers, and we look forward to more research progress of Polymed to benefit patients as soon as possible.

Starton Therapeutics’ STAR-LLD Continuous Delivery Shows Superior Tumor Reduction and Progression Free Survival (PFS) Compared to Pulsatile Lenalidomide Treatment in Lenalidomide-Resistant Model

On December 12, 2022 Starton Therapeutics Inc., (the "Company") a clinical stage biotechnology company announced today results from a 28-day efficacy study of STAR-LLD continuous subcutaneous (SC) infusion versus intraperitoneal (IP) lenalidomide in immunomodulatory drug (IMiD)-resistant RPMI CB.17 SCID mice (Press release, Starton Therapeutics, DEC 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234627699]). In this preclinical study: continuous delivery of lenalidomide resulted in significant improvements (p<0.05) in the mean time to treatment failure (TTF) in the 216 mcg/day (42 days) and 288 mcg/day (43 days) groups compared to both vehicle and IP arms.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Mean tumor volume at the end of the 27 day cycle was ~40% greater in the vehicle and IP-treated animals (1096 an 1042 mm3) compared to continuous doses of 144 mcg/day (742 mm3), 216 mcg/day (707 mm3), and 288 mcg/day (702 mm3). These differences were significant (p<0.05).

"We conducted this study to further analyze our hypothesis that changing the pharmacokinetic profile of lenalidomide may result in clinically superior pharmacodynamic outcomes," said Jamie Oliver, the Company’s Chief Medical Officer. "We are encouraged by these results and believe STAR-LLD has the potential to provide a significant benefit to patients with multiple myeloma, lymphomas, and CLL."

Five groups of animals (n=10 per group) were implanted with RPMI 8226 cells. Overall tolerability was not different between the groups, including variability in body weight which was acceptable across all treatment groups in both studies. In lenalidomide-resistant tumors there was no significant difference in mean TTF between vehicle and IP lenalidomide treated animals.

These data suggest that changing the delivery of lenalidomide to a continuous subcutaneous infusion improves tumor control and tumor volume in lenalidomide resistant tumors.

The Company previously announced an upcoming Phase 1b/2 clinical study in multiple myeloma and is currently targeting enrollment at US sites in the first quarter of 2023.

Update on Acclaim-1 Phase 1 dose escalation cohort study

On December 12, 2022, Genprex reported the Safety Review Committee for the Acclaim-1 Phase 1/2 clinical trial that uses a combination of Genprex, Inc.’s REQORSA and AstraZeneca PLC’s Tagrisso in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer that has activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR") mutations and progression after treatment with Tagrisso, approved escalating the dose in the Phase 1 dose escalation portion of the study from 0.09 mg/kg in the second cohort of patients to 0.12 mg/kg in the third and final cohort of patients (Press release, Genprex, DEC 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234625401]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!


Autolus Therapeutics to Present Clinical Data Updates at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting 2022

On December 12, 2022 Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, reported the online publication of three posters with updates from three Phase 1 clinical trials to be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, December 10-13, 2022 (Press release, Autolus, DEC 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234625274]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"With three years of median follow-up in our Phase 1 ALLCAR19 study we see 35% of adult relapsed/refractory B-ALL patients treated with obe-cel in sustained complete remissions between 24 and 47 months without any need for additional anti-leukemia therapy. Remarkably, these patients in long term remissions also have long-term persisting CAR T cells, a unique feature of obe-cel," said Dr. Christian Itin, Chief Executive Officer of Autolus. "With the initial data from the pivotal Phase 2 FELIX trial tracking the outcome of our previous ALLCAR19 trial, we are excited about the potential prospects of obe-cel in adult ALL patients and look forward to presenting the full data of the FELIX study in mid-2023. The potentially best-in-class profile of obe-cel is supported by the data we have observed in NHL, with continued high levels of clinical activity paired with an encouraging tolerability profile across DLBCL, MCL, FL and CLL."

"It’s great to be presenting clinical updates for AUTO1/22 in pediatric B-ALL and AUTO4 in peripheral T Cell Lymphoma. AUTO1/22 shows encouraging response rates in patients ineligible for commercial CAR T therapy, with 83% of patients achieving MRD negative complete responses. Importantly, we have not observed antigen negative relapse," said Dr. Martin Pule, Chief Scientific Officer at Autolus. "In the AUTO4 study, some patients have experienced durable metabolic CRs, including one patient up to the one-year mark. This is a notable finding given the poor prognosis of relapsed/refractory T cell lymphomas."

Conference Call

Management will host a conference call and webcast at 10:30 am ET/3:30 pm GMT to summarize the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) data. The webcast can be accessed at this link.

A simultaneous audio webcast and replay will be accessible on the events section of Autolus website.

Posters to be presented:

Title: Safety, Efficiency and Long-Term Follow-up of AUTO1, a Fast-Off Rate CD19 CAR in Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (B-ALL) and Other B-Cell Malignancies
LINK to poster
Session Title: 704. Cellular Immunotherapies: Early Phase and Investigational Therapies: Poster II
Session date and time: Sunday, December 11, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session room: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall D
Publication Number: 3318
Presenting Author: Dr. Claire Roddie, MD, PhD, FRCPath, Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Cancer Institute, University College London (UCL)
Summary: In the B-ALL cohort, 7 out of 20 (35%) patients were observed to be in ongoing Complete Remission (CR) at median follow up of 36 months (IQR 24-47) post-AUTO1 without the need for additional anti-leukemia therapy. Ongoing long-term remissions appear to be associated with CAR-T persistence, which was also observed in these 7 patients at their last follow-up. One patient with a subsequent stem cell transplant (SCT) also achieved long term remission but lost CAR T persistence after SCT. In the B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (NHL/CLL) cohorts, AUTO1 continues to display a favorable tolerability profile with no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) or Grade ≥ 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) across different indications. Of 25 patients with NHL/CLL evaluable for efficacy, the best overall response rate (ORR) was 23/25 (92%). AUTO1 was observed to be well-tolerated and active in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), with 7 of 8 patients in ongoing CR at last follow-up. In CLL, 4 of 5 treated patients achieved undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) in the bone marrow (BM), ongoing at last follow-up. While no relapses were seen in DLBCL patients, late CD19+ relapses were seen in follicular lymphoma (FL), and ongoing CAR-T persistence appears to be important.

Title: Dual Antigen Targeting with Co-Transduced CD19/22 CAR T Cells May Prevent Antigen-Negative Relapse after CAR T Cell Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory ALL (AUTO1/22)
LINK to poster
Session Title: 704. Cellular Immunotherapies: Early Phase and Investigational Therapies: Poster III
Session date and time: Monday, December 12, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session room: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall D
Publication Number: 4650
Presenting Author: Dr. Sara Ghorashian, MD, PhD, Hon clinical senior lecturer, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Summary: AUTO1/22 demonstrated a strong level of activity with 83% (10/12) MRD negative complete remissions and a favorable tolerability profile in a very challenging patient population (4 patients failed previous Kymriah treatment with three having CD19-negative disease, 3 had non-central nervous system (CNS) extra-medullary disease, which is associated with poor outcomes with CAR T therapy). AUTO1/22 showed excellent expansion, with a median 7.5 months duration of persistence of CD22 CAR. No antigen negative relapse was seen in responding patients. At a median follow up of 8.7 months, five of 10 responding patients were in MRD negative complete response (4-12 months) with two after further therapy for early loss of CAR T persistence.

Title: First in Human Study of AUTO4, a TRBC1-Targeting CAR T-Cell Therapy in Relapsed/Refractory TRBC1-Positive Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
LINK to poster
Session Title: 704. Cellular Immunotherapies: Early Phase and Investigational Therapies: Poster III
Session date and time: Monday, December 12, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session room: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall D
Publication Number: 4634
Presenting Author: Dr Kate Cwynarski, Consultant Haematologist University College London Hospitals (UCLH)
Summary: Having shown proof of concept at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) in June 2022, AUTO4 treatment for peripheral T-cell Lymphoma continues to be observed to be well tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities. Ongoing responses at 9- and 12-months post-dosing at the highest dose tested (450×106) are encouraging, and suggests a potential clinical benefit for patients. No CAR T cell expansion was observed in peripheral blood, but CAR T cells were detected in an on-treatment lymph node biopsy. Optimization of the AUTO4 manufacturing process has been performed, resulting in a product candidate with a more naive and central memory phenotype. The study is ongoing, with additional patients due to be treated to define the recommended Phase 2 dose.