On November 7, 2019 Affimed N.V. (Nasdaq: AFMD), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to fight cancer, reported that its Investigational New Drug application (IND) has cleared the required 30-day review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is in effect for a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of AFM24, a tetravalent, bispecific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)- and CD16A-binding innate cell engager, in patients with advanced cancers known to express EGFR (Press release, Affimed, NOV 7, 2019, View Source [SID1234550790]).
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"The IND clearance of AFM24 enables us to proceed with our planned Phase 1/2a study aimed at establishing safety and identifying initial signals of efficacy in patients with EGFR-expressing solid tumors," said Dr. Adi Hoess, Chief Executive Officer of Affimed. "There is a tremendous need for novel immuno-oncology approaches and based on its novel mechanism of activating the innate immune system, AFM24 has the potential to address limitations, such as toxicities or resistance, associated with other EGFR-targeted therapies."
The initial goal of the planned Phase 1/2a study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose and recommended Phase 2 dose of AFM24, as well as to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary efficacy. The second part of the study is designed to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of AFM24 in patients with select solid tumor subtypes. The study is planned to initiate in the first half of 2020.
AFM24 has the potential to provide a meaningful benefit to a broad set of patients suffering from EGFR-expressing tumors, including those patients who currently are not being addressed by existing EGFR-targeted therapies. According to internal market research, leading clinical experts across multiple cancer indications see a tremendous need for novel immuno-oncology approaches for the treatment of solid tumors. Preclinical data showed AFM24’s ability to bridge NK cells and macrophages to EGFR-expressing tumor cell lines and induce cell lysis through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), independent of RAS mutational status, and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). In addition, AFM24 enhanced tumor infiltration of NK cells and elicited dose-dependent anti-tumor efficacy in in vivo tumor models. Treatment of cynomolgus monkeys with AFM24 showed a favorable safety profile, even when the animals were treated at high dose levels, demonstrating AFM24’s potential to have lower toxicities in humans compared to other EGFR-targeted therapeutics.
About AFM24
AFM24, a tetravalent, bispecific EGFR- and CD16A-binding innate cell engager from Affimed’s fit-for-purpose ROCK platform, is designed to address limitations associated with other EGFR-targeted therapies, such as toxicities or resistance, by using a new mechanism of action to target EGFR-expressing solid tumors through activation of innate immunity rather than inhibition of EGFR-mediated signal transduction.