On January 21, 2025 Inhibrx Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: INBX) ("Inhibrx" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutics for oncology and rare diseases, reported preliminary efficacy and safety data from the Phase 1 trial of ozekibart (INBRX-109) in combination with FOLFIRI for the treatment of advanced or metastatic, unresectable colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC) (Press release, Inhibrx, JAN 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234649805]). These results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Gastrointestinal Annual Cancers Symposium.
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Efficacy was assessed in 10 of the 13 patients who received at least one dose of ozekibart, based on RECIST v1.1 criteria. Results demonstrated one complete response (CR), three partial responses (PR), and six cases of stable disease (SD). Durable disease control lasting ≥180 days was observed in 46.2% of patients, with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 7.85 months. All patients had received at least one prior line of systemic therapy (median: two; range: 1–6). Notably, the patient achieving a CR had undergone three prior lines of therapy, and two PRs occurred in patients who had failed prior FOLFIRI-based treatments.
Ozekibart-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in 84.6% of patients, with most being grade 1 or 2 in severity. Grade ≥3 TEAEs were observed in 30.8% of patients. The most common ozekibart-related TEAEs included nausea, increased alanine aminotransferase, diarrhea, and fatigue, with the majority being low-grade.
Encouraged by these preliminary results, Inhibrx has initiated a new expansion cohort to validate these findings in a more uniform patient population. The cohort is expected to enroll up to 50 patients, each with two to three prior lines of systemic therapy, and data are anticipated in Q3 2025.
"We believe these interim results underscore the potential of ozekibart to provide meaningful clinical benefit for patients with advanced solid tumors, even in heavily pretreated populations. We are particularly encouraged by the durable disease control observed and look forward to further evaluating these findings in our expansion cohort," commented Josep Garcia, Chief Clinical Development Officer at Inhibrx.
About Colorectal Adenocarcinoma
Colorectal adenocarcinoma is the third most frequent cancer globally and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. According to the WHO, there were nearly 2,000,000 new cases of CRC in 2020, with nearly 1,000,000 deaths. Effective therapies beyond the second-line setting are limited. In the U.S., the five-year relative survival rate in patients with metastatic CRC is 15.7%, underscoring the need for better treatments.
About ozekibart (INBRX-109)
Ozekibart is a precision-engineered, tetravalent death receptor 5 (DR5) agonist antibody designed to exploit the tumor-biased cell death induced by DR5 activation.
In January 2021, the FDA granted Fast Track designation to ozekibart for the treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable conventional chondrosarcoma, and, in November 2021, the FDA granted orphan drug designation to ozekibart for chondrosarcoma.
In June 2021, Inhibrx initiated a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, registration-enabling Phase 2 trial of ozekibart in metastatic, unresectable conventional chondrosarcoma, which is currently ongoing and expected to read out in the middle of this year. Additionally, in a Phase 1 trial, Inhibrx is investigating ozekibart in Ewing sarcoma in combination with irinotecan/temozolomide.