On May 30, 2025 BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: BLRX), a development stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing life-changing therapies in oncology and rare disease, reported that a poster including new data from the single-arm pilot phase of the investigator-initiated, randomized CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 combination clinical trial will be presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place May 30-June 3, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois (Press release, BioLineRx, MAY 30, 2025, View Source [SID1234653512]).
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The CheMo4METPANC trial is evaluating the company’s CXCR4 inhibitor motixafortide, the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab, and standard-of-care chemotherapies gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, versus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel alone, in first-line pancreatic cancer (PDAC).
Updated results from the pilot phase indicate that four of eleven patients remained progression free after more than one year. Two patients underwent definitive treatment for mPDAC: one had complete resolution of all radiologically detected liver lesions and underwent definitive radiation to the primary pancreatic tumor, and one had a sustained partial response and underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy with pathology demonstrating a complete response. An analysis of pre- and on-treatment biopsies and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) also revealed that CD8+ T-cell tumor infiltration increased across all eleven patients treated with the motixafortide combination. In addition, patients achieving a partial response were found to have higher pre-treatment proportions of CXCL12-producing cancer associated fibroblasts, a potential marker of response.
"The data that continue to emerge from the pilot phase of the CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 study are extremely encouraging, with four of eleven patients remaining progression free after more than one year, as well as two patients that underwent definitive treatment, in what has historically been among the most challenging tumor types to treat," stated Philip Serlin, Chief Executive Officer of BioLineRx Ltd. "Notably, these results further suggest that the combination of motixafortide, cemiplimab and standard-of-care chemotherapy can overcome the immunosuppressive mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and increase intratumoral CD8+ T-cell infiltration, resulting in improved patient outcomes. We look forward to results from the ongoing randomized portion of this important study."
The pilot clinical trial of motixafortide, cemiplimab, gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (N=11) demonstrated an overall response rate (ORR) of 64% (7/11) and a disease control rate (DCR) of 91% (10/11), compared to historical ORR and DCR of 23% and 48%, respectively, with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Based on these encouraging results, the CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 trial was amended to become a randomized study, with planned enrollment increasing from 30 to 108 patients. The trial is the first large, multi-center, randomized study evaluating motixafortide with a PD-1 inhibitor and first-line PDAC chemotherapies. The trial is planned to be fully enrolled in 2027, and a prespecified interim analysis is planned for when 40% of PFS events are observed.
Poster Presentation at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2025
McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois
Poster Session Details
Primary Track: Gastrointestinal Cancer—Gastroesophageal, Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary
Title: CheMo4METPANC: Combination Chemotherapy (Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel), Chemokine (C-X-C) Motif Receptor 4 Inhibitor (Motixafortide), and Immune Checkpoint Blockade (Cemiplimab) in Metastatic Treatment-Naïve Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Presenter: Gulam Abbas Manji, MD, PhD, Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
Abstract: 4167
Poster Bd #: 457
Date: May 31, 2025
Time: 9:00am CDT
Location: Hall A
About CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 Clinical Trial
The multi-center CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04543071) is a randomized, investigator-initiated clinical trial in first line metastatic pancreatic cancer. Sponsored by Columbia University, and supported equally by BioLineRx and Regeneron, the study is evaluating the combination of CXCR4 inhibitor motixafortide, PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab, and standard of care chemotherapies gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, versus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel alone, in 108 patients. The trial’s primary endpoint is progression free survival (PFS). Secondary objectives include safety, response rate, disease control rate, duration of clinical benefit and overall survival.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer has a low rate of early diagnosis and a poor prognosis. In the United States in 2024, an estimated 66,000 adults will be diagnosed with the disease, which accounts for approximately 3% of all cancers in the U.S. and about 7% of all cancer deaths.1 Worldwide, an estimated 496,000 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2020. In the U.S., if the cancer is detected at an early stage when surgical removal of the tumor is possible, the 5-year relative survival rate is 44%. About 12% of people are initially diagnosed at this stage. If the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs, the 5-year relative survival rate is 15%. For the 52% of patients who are initially diagnosed with metastatic cancer, the 5-year relative survival rate is 3%.2 In particular, hepatic (liver) metastases are a critical risk factor driving poor prognoses for patients with metastatic PDAC. These data highlight the need for the development of new therapeutic options.
About Motixafortide in Cancer Immunotherapy
Motixafortide inhibits CXCR4, a chemokine receptor and a well validated therapeutic target that is over-expressed in many human cancers including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Motixafortide leverages the expression of the CXCR4 receptor on different immune cells and potentiates the immune system against the tumor. Among CXCR4-expressing immune cells, some exhibit anti-tumoral activity, such as effector T cells and some exhibit pro-tumoral activity and support tumor growth. By blocking the CXCR4 receptor, motixafortide was shown in a Phase 2 study in pancreatic cancer patients to enhance anti-tumoral activity and to ameliorate the pro-tumoral activities by modulating the effector/suppressor cell ratio towards a proinflammatory profile.