On March 16, 2016 Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACK) reported that it will present preclinical and clinical data on its extensive oncology pipeline at the 2016 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, April 16-20, 2016 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (Press release, Merrimack, MAR 16, 2016, View Source [SID:1234509589]). Of particular focus will be preclinical data on the latest novel therapeutic developed from Merrimack’s nanoliposome platform and systems biology approach – MM-310, an ephrin receptor A2 (EphA2)-targeted nanoliposome delivering docetaxel.

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EphA2 is a key receptor associated with poor prognosis and is shown to be overexpressed in several solid tumors including prostate, ovarian, gastric and lung cancer. In preclinical models, MM-310 has demonstrated that Merrimack’s proprietary delivery platform provides controlled biodistribution and sustained exposure of the drug at the site of the tumor. This design has shown improvement in antitumor activity while avoiding the hematologic toxicities common with docetaxel or the bleeding associated with a traditional antibody drug conjugate (ADC) format in preclinical models.

Merrimack will also present a late-breaking abstract describing in vitro and in vivo targeting effects of MM-302 in HER2 intermediate cancer cells as well as research on ONIVYDE (irinotecan liposome injection) and other targeted therapies currently in development.

Oral presentation
MM-310: a novel EphA2 targeted nanoliposome for delivery of docetaxel

Session Title: Antibody-targeted Therapy
Nanoliposomal targeting of Ephrin receptor A2 (EphA2): Preclinical in vitro and in vivo rationale (Abstract #871)
Sunday, April 17, 2016, 4:15 PM – 6:15 PM ET

Poster Sessions
MM-310: a novel EphA2 targeted nanoliposome for delivery of docetaxel

Session Title: Targeting the Microenvironment
Nanoliposomal targeting of Ephrin receptor A2 (EphA2): Clinical Translation (Abstract #750, Poster Section 33)
Sunday, April 17, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Session Title: Drug Delivery
Activity of an EphA2-targeted docetaxel nanoliposome in pancreatic patient-derived models as monotherapy and in combination with gemcitabine (Abstract #2069, Poster Section 15)
Monday, April 18, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Session Title: Therapeutics
MM-310, a novel EphA2-targeted docetaxel nanoliposome (Abstract #3912, Poster Section 21)
Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET
MM-398 (ONIVYDE (irinotecan liposome injection) or "Nal-IRI"): a novel encapsulation of irinotecan in a liposomal formulation

Session Title: Drug Delivery
Differential tissue clearance results in improved therapeutic index for irinotecan liposome injection (ONIVYDE) when combined with the PARP inhibitor veliparib in preclinical cervical tumors (Abstract #2075, Poster Section 15)
Monday, April 18, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Session Title: Targeted Therapy
Preclinical anti-tumor activity of nanoliposomal irinotecan (Nal-IRI, MM-398) + 5-FU + oxaliplatin in pancreatic cancer (Abstract #4830, Poster Section 20)
Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
MM-302: a novel HER2 targeted liposomal doxorubicin

Session Title: Late-Breaking Research: Cancer Chemistry
HER2-targeted PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (MM-302) efficiently targets the HER2 intermediate cell population in vitro and in vivo (Abstract #LB-061, Poster Section 12)
Sunday, April 17, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET
MM-141 (istiratumab): a monoclonal antibody that acts as a tetravalent inhibitor of PI3K/AKT/mTOR

Session Title: Growth Factor Receptors and Surface Antigens as Therapeutic Targets
Istiratumab (MM-141), a bispecific antibody targeting IGF-1R and ErbB3, inhibits pro-survival signaling in vitro and potentiates the activity of standard of care chemotherapy in vivo in ovarian cancer models (Abstract #1209, Poster Section 15)
Monday, April 18, 2016, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
MM-151: an oligoclonal therapeutic consisting of a mixture of 3 fully human monoclonal antibodies designed to bind and inhibit signaling of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)

Session Title: New Drugs, Therapeutic Targets, and Treatment Approaches
MM-151 elicits broad and unique inhibition of cells harboring EGFR extracellular domain mutations —results of multiscale experiments with genome-edited cell lines (Abstract #2148, Poster Section 18)
Monday, April 18, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET
Companion Therapeutics:

Session Title: Growth Factor Receptors and Surface Antigens as Therapeutic Targets
A network biology screen reveals ligand-receptor pathway connections and resistance mechanisms to RTK-directed therapies in cancer cells (Abstract #1199, Poster Section 15)
Monday, April 18, 2016, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Preclinical Research:

Session Title: Targeting Protein Kinases, Death Pathways, and the Tumor Microenvironment
Design and engineering of TRAIL fusion proteins for cancer therapy (Abstract #3842, Poster Section 19)
Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET