On May 23, 2024 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) reported positive new results from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial evaluating its first-in-class costimulatory bispecific antibody, REGN7075 (EGFRxCD28), in combination with Libtayo (cemiplimab) in patients with advanced solid tumors (Press release, Regeneron, MAY 23, 2024, View Source [SID1234643614]). Data from the dose-escalation portion of the trial showed the investigational combination led to anti-tumor responses in patients with microsatellite stable colorectal cancer (MSS CRC). REGN7075 is one of the first immunotherapies to demonstrate clinical activity in MSS CRC, including in a patient with liver metastases. The results will be shared during an oral session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago.

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"Microsatellite stable colorectal cancer has historically been unresponsive to immunotherapy," said Neil H. Segal, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Oncologist and Research Director in the Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and a trial investigator. "The early results for this novel investigational EGFRxCD28 costimulatory bispecific in combination with Libtayo are encouraging, showing anti-tumor responses in a highly difficult-to-treat cancer. This combination is one of the first immunotherapy regimens to show clinical activity in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer, and we are excited to advance this trial in additional tumor types."

In the dose-escalation portion of the trial, patients with metastatic and locally advanced solid tumors – who had exhausted standard treatment options, and most of whom also had liver metastases – received combination therapy with REGN7075 and Libtayo, following a REGN7075 monotherapy lead-in dose. Among 94 patients treated as of data cutoff, 65% (n=61) had MSS CRC, of which 51 MSS CRC patients were treated at an active dose level. Efficacy results among these 51 patients were as follows:

6% (n=3) overall response rate (ORR) and 29% (n=15) disease control rate (DCR). This included one complete response (CR), two partial responses (PR), and 12 patients with stable disease. At data cutoff, all responders were without liver metastases.
Among the subset of 15 patients without liver metastases, there was a 20% ORR (n=3) and 80% DCR (n=12).
Among the subset of 36 patients with liver metastases, three patients had stable disease as of data cutoff, and one patient achieved a PR following data cutoff.
Safety was assessed in 84 patients across multiple solid tumor types at a variety of doses of REGN7075. REGN7075 and Libtayo showed an acceptable safety profile, and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) of any grade occurred in 98% of patients; Grade 3 and 4 TEAEs occurred in 35% of patients. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 90% of patients, with 7% of cases reported as grade 3 or 4. The majority of TRAEs were Grade 1 to 2 (83%), with the most common being infusion-related reactions (58%) that were manageable with premedication and dosing adjustments. TRAEs led to discontinuation in 5% of patients, and three patients discontinued treatment due to Grade 2 infusion-related reactions. As of data cutoff, there have been no dose-limiting toxicities, no reports of cytokine release syndrome, and no treatment-related deaths.

"Regeneron is focused on developing a unique investigational portfolio of oncology medicines including checkpoint inhibitors, CD3 bispecifics and CD28 costimulatory bispecifics. Over the past several years, we have made progress in our programs across checkpoint inhibitors and the CD3 class and are now showing promising activity with two costimulatory bispecific antibodies," said Israel Lowy, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Translational and Clinical Oncology at Regeneron. "Our costimulatory bispecifics were designed with the goal of turning cancer cells into antigen presenting cells, thereby converting historically immunotherapy unresponsive tumors from ‘cold’ to ‘hot’. These early data speak to the potential of REGN7075 in combination with Libtayo and add to a growing body of evidence supporting novel costimulatory bispecifics that are in clinical trials for a range of solid tumors and blood cancers."

The combination of REGN7075 and Libtayo is currently under clinical development, and its safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority. While the dose escalation portion of the trial across multiple solid tumor types including non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer and other tumor types is ongoing, expansion cohorts in several tumor types have also been initiated.

About the Phase 1/2 Trial
The Phase 1/2, first-in-human, open-label trial investigating REGN7075 in combination with Libtayo is currently enrolling patients with metastatic and locally advanced solid tumors who have exhausted standard treatment options. The trial includes an ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation portion and a Phase 2 dose-expansion period. In the Phase 1 dose-escalation portion, patients first receive a weekly lead-in dose of REGN7075 monotherapy for three weeks to assess its safety and efficacy alone. This is followed by treatment with combination therapy, with Libtayo dosed once every three weeks and REGN7075 dosed either every week or every three weeks. The primary endpoints are assessing safety and tolerability, while the secondary endpoints are assessing efficacy, pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity. Expansion cohorts in several tumor types have been initiated. For more information, visit the Regeneron clinical trials website, or contact via [email protected] or 844-734-6643.

On May 23, 2024 PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to changing the lives of patients with devastating diseases, reported that Bharatt Chowrira, Ph.D., J.D., Chief Executive Officer, and Eric Elenko, Ph.D., Co-founder and President, will participate in a fireside chat at the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference on Thursday, June 6th, 2024, at 10:00am EDT / 3:00pm BST (Press release, PureTech Health, MAY 23, 2024, View Source [SID1234643613]). A webcast of the presentation will be available at View Source

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On May 23, 2024 Orca Bio, a biotechnology company committed to transforming the lives of patients through high-precision cell therapy, reported it will present new data at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, from May 31–June 4 (Press release, Orca Bio, MAY 23, 2024, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=orca-bio-to-present-positive-clinical-outcomes-with-orca-t-in-patients-with-aml-at-2024-asco-annual-meeting [SID1234643611]). The presentation will highlight outcomes of its lead investigational allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, Orca-T, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

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AML is an aggressive form of blood cancer and the most common acute leukemia in adults. There are an estimated 20,800 new diagnoses and nearly 11,200 deaths in the U.S. each year.

"Today, only a fraction of adults diagnosed with AML undergo curative treatment with standard of care allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant due to the serious and life-threatening risks often associated with it," said Rawan Faramand, M.D., assistant member of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center. "These new findings suggest Orca-T has the potential to offer a cure with low rates of treatment-related mortality, and could provide an important option for patients with AML. With its goal of alleviating the tradeoff between the risk of relapse and the risk of toxicities observed with standard of care stem cell transplant, this novel approach has the potential to expand curative treatment to many more patients."

A new subanalysis from the ongoing multi-center Phase 1b single-arm trial evaluated outcomes with Orca-T among a subgroup of 37 patients with AML who had a median age of 51 years and median follow-up of 14 months. All patients received myeloablative conditioning (MAC) with busulfan, fludarabine and thiotepa (BFT), followed by Orca-T and single-agent graft versus host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis with tacrolimus. At 12 months, results found relapse-free survival was 82.5% (95% CI: 65.0, 91.7) and non-relapse mortality was 0%. Overall survival was 100% (95% CI: 100, 100) at 12 months. The safety profile of Orca-T in this subgroup was consistent with the larger Phase 1b population with no new safety signals identified. Across all patients, Orca-T was manufactured reliably and delivered with vein-to-vein times of 72 hours or less across the U.S.

"We’re pleased to present at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) for the first time and share the latest findings that support the potential for Orca-T to offer a curative solution and fulfill a significant unmet need for patients with AML," said Scott McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer at Orca Bio. "These data continue to advance our mission of expanding potentially life-saving treatment to patients and their providers who face limited viable options today."

Details of the Orca Bio presentation follow:

Title: Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Orca-T

Session: Hematologic Malignancies—Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant

Abstract Number: 6552

Poster Code: 111

Date and Time: June 3, 2024, from 9AM – 12PM CDT

Location: Oncology Professionals Hall

The ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) abstracts are available at View Source

About Orca-T
Orca-T is an investigational allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of multiple hematologic malignancies. Orca-T is comprised of highly purified regulatory T-cells, CD34+ stem cells and conventional T-cells derived from peripheral blood from either related or unrelated matched donors. Orca-T is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial at leading transplant centers across the U.S. and has received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

On May 23, 2024 NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) ("NKGen" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous, allogeneic and CAR-NK natural killer ("NK") cell therapeutics, reported an online publication, titled "Interim Analysis of a Phase I Study using Cryopreserved Non-genetically Modified Allogeneic Natural Killer Cells With Enhanced Cytotoxicity (SNK02) in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors without Lymphodepletion" at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) ("ASCO") Annual Meeting to be held virtually and at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois from May 31–June 4, 2024 (Press release, NKGEN Biotech, MAY 23, 2024, View Source [SID1234643610]).

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This Phase 1 clinical trial is a multi-center, open-label study evaluating the safety and tolerability of SNK02 in participants with pathologically confirmed solid tumors refractory to standard of care therapy. The study drug, SNK02, is a first-in-kind, cryopreserved allogeneic non-genetically modified NK cell product with significant anti-tumor cytotoxicity and over 90% expression of CD16, NKG2D, NKp46, and DNAM-1, that can be consistently produced on a large commercial scale. SNK02 was administered as an intravenous infusion (IV), weekly for eight weeks in patients with advanced solid tumors. The starting dose was 6×109 SNK02 cells. We hypothesized that higher doses of SNK02 (to overcome autodigestion) could be delivered frequently without the need for lymphodepletion and that it might demonstrate activity against solid tumors that have failed multiple prior standard-of-care treatment options. The primary endpoint was safety based on adverse events (AEs), vitals, laboratory tests, and physical exams. Tolerability of SNK02 and maximum tolerated dose were also evaluated.

"Interim data from our Phase 1 clinical study utilizing our second NK cell therapy product, SNK02, demonstrated that the treatment was well-tolerated as a monotherapy in patients with solid tumors refractory to standard of care therapy," said Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and CEO of NKGen. "We are particularly excited because SNK02 has the potential to be a first-in-class cryopreserved allogeneic NK cell therapy for solid tumors that does not require lymphodepletion before administration, which may lead to better overall synergy in future combination regimens especially with immune checkpoint inhibitors where a robust T-cell response is needed. Using our proprietary allogeneic manufacturing and cryopreservation processes, we are capable of producing hundreds of thousands of potential doses of enhanced NK cell therapies from materials collected from a single donor. Thus, our potential to treat a significant number of cancer patients with SNK02 is remarkably high. We are pleased to see such promising Phase 1 trial results for both of our unique cell therapy candidates: autologous SNK01 for neurodegenerative disease and allogeneic SNK02 for cancer."

For additional information on the SNK02 clinical trial, please visit View Source using the identifier NCT05990920.

Highlights from the online publication include:

Five patients with advanced refractory solid tumors were enrolled in the trial.
Patients had received an average of 4 lines of prior therapy.
Median age was 64 (range 44 – 71) and 3 were male.
The subtypes were 1 leiomyosarcoma, 1 angiosarcoma, 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma, 1 undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, and 1 colorectal adenocarcinoma.
Four of five patients completed 8 cycles of SNK02. The best objective response of stable disease (tumor stopped growing) was demonstrated in 100% of patients that completed the 8 cycles.
Out of the 36 doses administered through Cycle 8, there were 17 Grade 1, 3 Grade 2, and 1 Grade 3 adverse events (AEs) related to investigational product (IP). The Grade 3 AE of increased fatigue resolved after 1 day with no intervention required.
There was 1 death on study, which was deemed unrelated to the IP.
Auto-antibodies appeared to develop around cycle 5 and appeared to correlate with AEs.
SNK02 was well tolerated as a monotherapy and appears to have some clinical activity against pretreated solid tumors despite the lack of lymphodepletion. SNK02 will continue to be studied as a monotherapy and in potential combination treatment regimens with monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A copy of the ePublication will be available on the Scientific Publications page of the Company’s website at View Source

About SNK02

SNK02 is a novel cell-based, donor-derived ex vivo expanded allogeneic natural killer ("NK") cell, immunotherapeutic drug candidate. NKGen Biotech, Inc. is developing SNK02 for the treatment of a broad range of cancers.

On May 23, 2024 Nimbus Therapeutics, LLC ("Nimbus Therapeutics" or "Nimbus"), a biotechnology company that designs and develops breakthrough medicines for patients through its powerful computational drug discovery engine, reported the presentation of new positive data from the company’s ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of NDI-101150, a novel, oral small-molecule hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) inhibitor in development for the treatment of advanced solid tumors (NCT05128487) (Press release, Nimbus Therapeutics, MAY 23, 2024, View Source [SID1234643609]). Results are being highlighted in a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place May 31 – June 4, 2024 in Chicago, IL.

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The Phase 1/2 multicenter, open-label trial is designed to assess NDI-101150 as a monotherapy (50-200 mg dose) and in combination with 200 mg pembrolizumab in the treatment of adults with advanced solid tumors. The results being presented at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting include updated data from 44 patients in the dose escalation cohorts (n=38 on monotherapy, n=6 on combination therapy) and additional data from 15 patients in the dose expansion cohorts. Results, as of March 18, 2024, showed:

Treatment with NDI-101150 monotherapy was associated with clinical benefit in five out of 30 (16.7%) response-evaluable patients.
One patient with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the dose escalation cohort exhibited a complete response, and one patient with RCC in the dose expansion cohort exhibited a partial response. Both patients were pre-treated with multiple lines of therapies including checkpoint inhibitors.
Three patients with RCC, pancreatic cancer and endometrial cancer, respectively, maintained durable stable disease (SD) for more than six months while on treatment (21 months for the patient with RCC).
In the RCC patient population, six out of eight response-evaluable patients had a best overall response of SD or better.
NDI-101150 showed an increase in activated CD8+ T cells and dendritic cell infiltration in on-treatment patient biopsies compared to archival biopsies, consistent with nonclinical studies of NDI-101150 showing immune cell infiltration and robust anti-tumor activity in murine syngeneic tumor models.
NDI-101150 is well-tolerated and the overall safety of NDI-101150 remains acceptable.
"We are encouraged by these results being presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) and additional observations to date showing monotherapy clinical benefit and an acceptable safety profile of NDI-101150, further validating HPK1 as a differentiated next-generation immunotherapy target for people living with advanced solid tumors in need of new effective treatment options," said Nathalie Franchimont, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at Nimbus. "HPK1 inhibition is a promising therapeutic approach as it is shown to activate T cells, B cells and dendritic cells to mount a robust anti-tumor response, whereas currently approved checkpoint inhibitors activate T cells. NDI-101150 is a potent and highly selective HPK1 inhibitor that has the potential to achieve significant tumor growth inhibition and make a meaningful difference for patients."

The study abstract is available on the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) website here and the details of the poster presentation are as follows:

Title: Phase 1/2 Trial of the HPK1 Inhibitor NDI-101150 as Monotherapy and in Combination with Pembrolizumab: Clinical Update

Lead Author: Marcus Noel, M.D.

Date: Saturday, June 1, 2024

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CT

Session Title: Developmental Therapeutics – Molecularly Targeted Agents and Tumor Biology

Abstract Number: 3083