On November 7, 2022 Cantargia (Cantargia AB; NASDAQ Stockholm: CANTA) reported new data providing further insights to the mechanisms underlying the antitumor activity of the IL1RAP-binding antibody nadunolimab (CAN04) (Press release, Cantargia, NOV 7, 2022, View Source [SID1234623315]). In a model of the pancreatic cancer (PDAC) microenvironment, nadunolimab potently reduced levels of various tumor-promoting molecules, in sharp contrast to an anti-IL-1β antibody which showed no such effects. PDAC and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with nadunolimab and chemotherapy showed reductions in the same molecules. The data will be presented in a poster session at the 37th Annual SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) Meeting 2022 (SITC 2022), held in Boston, November 8-12, 2022.
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"The results provide new and exciting insights into the unique anti-tumor properties of nadunolimab, and further illustrate the advantages of its dual action properties. The findings strongly support the upcoming randomized clinical trials of nadunolimab," said Göran Forsberg, CEO of Cantargia.
Both IL-1α and IL-1β signal via IL1RAP and contribute to tumor progression by triggering the release of molecules such as CXCL1 and CXCL5, which stimulate recruitment of immune suppressive cells to the tumor. The data reported at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2022 confirm that both IL-1α and IL-1β cause a release of CXCL1, CXCL5 and additional related markers by human blood cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). Furthermore, the data show that IL1RAP blockade by nadunolimab reduces these effects.
In the presence of PDAC cells, tumor-supporting CAF also release CXCL1, CXCL5 and other markers, and these are similarly attenuated by nadunolimab but not an anti-IL-1β antibody. The effect is highly relevant to nadunolimab’s activity in the clinic: in blood samples from PDAC and NSCLC patients treated with nadunolimab and chemotherapy in the phase I/IIa trial CANFOUR, levels of CXCL1 and CXCL5 were reduced compared to samples collected prior to therapy. Increased levels of CXCL1 and CXCL5 are linked to poor patient prognosis. Preclinical studies by others have also shown that antibody targeting of CXCL1 or CXCL5 results in antitumor efficacy, and blockade of these signaling pathways are evaluated in clinical trials of cancer.
The findings support the promising clinical interim efficacy data presented recently at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2022. In over 100 patients evaluated in the CANFOUR trial, nadunolimab in combination with chemotherapy results in higher efficacy than historical controls for chemotherapy alone. Cantargia is preparing the next steps in the late-stage clinical development of nadunolimab in PDAC and NSCLC. Nadunolimab will be included in the pivotal phase II/III clinical trial Precision PromiseSM, designed by Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), and a randomized trial in NSCLC is also planned for 2023.
The results will be presented at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2022 in a poster, details of which can be found below. The poster will be made available on Cantargia’s webpage (View Source) after the presentation on 10 November.
Abstract number: 145
Abstract category: Biomarkers, Immune Monitoring and Novel Technologies
Abstract title: Nadunolimab inhibits IL-1α/β-induced CXCR1/2 ligand expression and reduces serum levels of CXCL1 and CXCL5 in NSCLC and PDAC patients
Presenter: Dr. Camilla Rydberg Millrud
This is information that Cantargia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 14.00 CET on 7 November 2022.