On May 18, 2017 Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) reported results from two Phase I studies evaluating the novel cancer immunotherapy CEA-TCB (RO6958688; RG7802), a molecule that binds T-cells and tumour cells simultaneously (Press release, Hoffmann-La Roche, MAY 17, 2017, View Source [SID1234519212]). CEA-TCB was studied in patients with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-positive solid tumours, including microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC) that overexpress CEA and progressed after at least two prior chemotherapy regimens.1 The studies demonstrated encouraging anti-tumour activity of CEA-TCB as a monotherapy, which was further enhanced in combination with TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! In the monotherapy, out of 31 patients with mCRC treated with CEA-TCB doses of 60mg or above, 14 patients (45%) showed either partial response (n=2, 6%) or stable disease (n=12, 39%). For the combination, of 25 patients treated with doses of 5–160mg of CEA-TCB, 11 patients with MSS mCRC were treated at doses shown to induce tumour lesion inflammation (80 and 160 mg). Nine of these patients (82%) showed either a partial response (n=2, 18%) or stable disease (n=7, 64%) in this difficult-to-treat population.
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CEA-TCB showed favourable pharmacokinetics and a manageable safety profile in both monotherapy and combination therapy with TECENTRIQ. Including all adverse events (AEs) in both studies, the majority of AEs were Grade 1–2, with 7.9% being Grade 3 or higher in the monotherapy trial and 8.1% being Grade 3 or higher in the combination trial. Two treatment-related AEs with severity greater than grade 3, (one Grade 4, one Grade 5), occurred in the monotherapy dose escalation at the highest dose level, which exceeded the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in cycle 1. The results of these Phase I studies will be presented at the 2017 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting which takes place from 2–6 June in Chicago, IL, United States.1
"These early data in heavily pre-treated metastatic colorectal cancer are particularly encouraging because there is a critical need to improve outcomes for people living with this disease," said Sandra Horning, MD, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. "CEA-TCB is currently being further investigated in Phase I clinical trials and has the potential to be combined with a wide variety of other agents. We look forward to continuing the development of this novel cancer immunotherapy across a range of CEA-positive cancers."
CEA-TCB uses a novel 2-to-1 molecular design. It is engineered to bind simultaneously with one arm to CD3 on T-cells and with two arms to CEA on tumour cells, bringing T-cells into close proximity to the cancer cells. This leads to T-cell activation and subsequent tumour cell killing.
A summary of the Phase I results to be presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) are provided below.
Study 1: 80 patients (MSS mCRC: 70) treated; 31 available for efficacy evaluation at data cut-off
Study 2: 45 patients (MSS mCRC: 35) treated; 25 available for efficacy evaluation at data cut-off
About metastatic colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in men (746,000 cases, 10.0% of the total) and the second in women (614,000 cases, 9.2% of the total) worldwide.2 Almost 55% of the cases occur in more developed regions. Incidence rates vary 10-fold in both sexes worldwide.2 The global burden of CRC is expected to increase by 60% to more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030.3
About CEA-TCB
CEA-TCB is a novel T-cell bispecific antibody being investigated for the treatment of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-expressing solid tumours. As CEA is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC), CEA-TCB has the potential to work in a broad range of solid tumours. CEA-TCB uses a novel 2-to-1 molecular design. It is engineered to bind simultaneously with one arm to CD3 on T-cells and with two arms to CEA on tumour cells, bringing T-cells into close proximity to the cancer cells. This leads to T-cell activation and subsequent tumour cell killing.