On June 28, 2021 Polyphor AG (SIX: POLN), a research driven clinical stage, Swiss biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing best-in-class molecules in oncology and antimicrobial resistance reported that its global Phase III study, FORTRESS, evaluating balixafortide (POL6326) in combination with eribulin for the treatment of patients with HER2 negative, locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, did not meet its co-primary endpoint (Press release, Polyphor, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584398]).

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At the primary analysis, balixafortide plus eribulin showed no improvement in the objective response rate (ORR) compared with eribulin alone (13.0% versus 13.7%; p=1.00) in the third line and later population (n=330 patients) followed for a minimum of 6 months. The clinical benefit rate, a key secondary endpoint indicating a stable disease or any confirmed response for a duration of at least 6 months as assessed by the IRC (independent radiological committee) was observed in 16.7% of patients in the balixafortide plus eribulin arm and 19.6% in the eribulin alone arm. The study confirmed the positive safety and tolerability profile of balixafortide in line with the previously reported Phase Ib study. Polyphor will continue to analyze the data, review with the experts and will decide about the future of the study in mid-July.

The board of directors is undergoing a strategic assessment and will consider a full range of options regarding the future of the company and will provide an update not later than end of July.

"Given the high unmet medical need for patients with HER2 negative breast cancer in a late stage of the disease, we are disappointed that the FORTRESS study did not meet its coprimary endpoint," says Gökhan Batur, CEO of Polyphor. "We thank all the patients, investigators and healthcare professionals as well as our employees for their active participation in this study."

About the FORTRESS study

The FORTRESS study (POL6326-009) is an international, multicenter, randomized active-controlled, open-label Phase III trial which investigates the efficacy, safety and tolerability of intravenous balixafortide given with eribulin versus eribulin alone in the treatment of HER2 negative, locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. The study had randomized 432 patients with HER2 negative MBC with at least 344 patients receiving third or subsequent line and 88 patients receiving second line chemotherapy.

About balixafortide

Balixafortide (POL6326) is a potent, specific, and highly selective antagonist of the chemokine receptor CXCR4, a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that regulates the trafficking and homing of both cancer cells and cells of the patient’s immune system.

On June 28, 2021 Targovax ASA, reported that Victor Levitsky, Chief Scientific Officer of Targovax, is invited to present at the 4th Annual Next Gen Immuno-Oncology Virtual Congress-US Edition (Press release, Targovax, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584397]).

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4th Annual Next Gen Immuno-Oncology Virtual Congress-US Edition, virtual
Date: 29 June 2021
Presenter: Victor Levitsky (CSO)
Time: 14:15 EDT / 20:15 CET
Title: Clinical efficacy and immuno-modulatory properties of oncolytic adenovirus ONCOS-102

On June 28, 2021 Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Syndax," the "Company" or "we") (Nasdaq: SNDX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation (FTD) to SNDX-5613 for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemias harboring a mixed lineage leukemia rearranged (MLLr) or nucleophosmin (NPM1) mutation. SNDX-5613 is the Company’s highly selective, oral menin inhibitor (Press release, Syndax, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584396]).

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"Genetically-defined acute leukemias represent an underserved area marked by particularly poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options," said Briggs W. Morrison, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syndax. "As we move toward initiating our pivotal study, receipt of FTD from the FDA underscores SNDX-5613’s potential to meaningfully improve outcomes for patients with MLLr and NPM1 mutant acute leukemias."

About Fast Track Designation

Fast Track Designation is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fulfill an unmet medical need, enabling drugs to reach patients earlier. The FDA created this process to help deliver important new drugs to patients earlier and it covers a broad range of serious illnesses. These clinical programs may also be eligible to apply for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review if relevant criteria are met.

About SNDX-5613

SNDX-5613 is a potent, selective, small molecule inhibitor of the menin-MLL binding interaction that is being developed for the treatment of mixed lineage leukemia rearranged (MLLr) acute leukemias including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and NPM1 mutant AML. In preclinical models of MLLr acute leukemias, SNDX-5613 demonstrated robust, dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth, resulting in a marked survival benefit. Menin-MLL interaction inhibitors have also demonstrated robust treatment benefit in multiple preclinical models of NPM1 mutant AML, which represents the most frequent genetic abnormality in adult AML. SNDX-5613 is currently being evaluated in the Company’s AUGMENT-101 Phase 1/2 open-label clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute leukemias. SNDX-5613 was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with AML, and Fast Track designation for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemias harboring a mixed lineage leukemia rearranged MLLr or NPM1 mutation.

About Mixed Lineage Leukemia Rearranged Acute Leukemias

Rearrangements of the MLL gene give rise to mixed lineage leukemia rearranged (MLLr) acute leukemias known to have a poor prognosis, with less than 25% of adult patients surviving past five years. MLL rearrangements produce fusion proteins that require interaction with the protein called menin to drive leukemic cancer growth. Disruption of the menin-MLLr interaction has been shown to halt the growth of MLLr leukemic cells. MLLr leukemias, which are routinely diagnosed through currently available cytogenetic or molecular diagnostic techniques, occur in approximately 80% of infant acute leukemias and up to 10% of all acute leukemias. There are currently no approved therapies indicated for MLLr leukemias.

About NPM1 Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia

NPM1 mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is distinguished by point mutations in the NPM1 gene that drive the leukemic phenotype, is the most common type of cytogenetically normal adult AML and represents approximately 30% of all adult AML cases. This subtype of AML has a five year overall survival rate of approximately 50%. Similar to mixed lineage leukemia rearranged (MLLr) leukemias, NPM1 mutant AML is highly dependent on the expression of specific developmental genes shown to be negatively impacted by inhibitors of the menin-MLL interaction. NPM1 mutant AML is routinely diagnosed through currently available screening techniques. There are currently no approved therapies indicated for NPM1 mutant AML.

On June 28, 2021 Precision BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: DTIL), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic CAR T and in vivo gene correction therapies with its ARCUS genome editing platform, and SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, reported that the first patient has been dosed in the combination arm of Precision’s Phase 1/2a trial evaluating PBCAR269A (Press release, Precision Biosciences, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584395]). In the study, Precision’s investigational allogeneic BCMA-targeted CAR T cell therapy will be combined with nirogacestat, SpringWorks’ investigational gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI), in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma.

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"We are pleased to begin dosing patients in the combination arm of our ongoing Phase 1/2a study evaluating PBCAR269A, our first-generation allogeneic CAR T candidate targeting BCMA in patients with R/R multiple myeloma. BCMA is a well-established therapeutic target for multiple myeloma and this arm of the study pairs PBCAR269A with SpringWorks’ nirogacestat, a gamma secretase inhibitor, a combination intended to offer strong mechanistic rationale for clinical benefit," said Alan List, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Precision BioSciences. "As we look forward to sharing interim monotherapy data for PBCAR269A later this year, we are also conducting IND enabling studies to advance PBCAR269B, an immune-evading, stealth cell formulation into the clinic in 2022. We have high conviction in both our technology and BCMA as a target and we are pursuing a broad, data-driven strategy to inform our future development plans for this indication."

"We are pleased to advance this combination into the clinic so we can evaluate if nirogacestat paired with PBCAR269A offers a safe and efficacious treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma," said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks Therapeutics. "We have made significant progress in developing nirogacestat as a cornerstone of BCMA combination therapy across modalities and look forward to generating clinical data with all of our partners."

In September 2020, Precision and SpringWorks entered into a clinical collaboration in which Precision is sponsoring the expanded Phase 1/2a study of PBCAR269A to include nirogacestat and evaluate the safety and preliminary clinical activity of the combination therapy. Simultaneously, Precision continues to enroll patients in the highest dose cohort (Dose Level 3 at 6.0 × 106 cells/kg) in its monotherapy study with PBCAR269A.

About PBCAR269A (Clinical Trials Study Identifier: NCT04171843)

PBCAR269A is an allogeneic BCMA-targeted CAR T cell therapy candidate being evaluated for safety and preliminary clinical activity in a Phase 1/2a multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label, parallel assignment, single-dose, dose-escalation, and dose-expansion study of adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma. The starting dose of PBCAR269A is 6 x 105 CAR T cells/kg body weight with subsequent cohorts receiving escalating doses to a maximum dose of 6 x 106 CAR T cells/kg body weight.

PBCAR269A is part of a pipeline of cell-phenotype optimized allogeneic CAR T therapies derived from healthy donors and then modified via a simultaneous TCR knock-out and CAR T knock-in step with the Company’s proprietary ARCUS genome editing technology. Precision BioSciences optimizes its CAR T therapy candidates for immune cell expansion in the body by maintaining a high proportion of naïve and central memory CAR T cells.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track Designation to PBCAR269A for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma for which the FDA previously granted Orphan Drug Designation. The PBCAR269A clinical trial is being conducted at multiple U.S. sites.

About Nirogacestat

Nirogacestat is an investigational, oral, selective, small molecule gamma secretase inhibitor in Phase 3 clinical development for desmoid tumors, which are rare and often debilitating and disfiguring soft-tissue tumors. Gamma secretase cleaves multiple transmembrane protein complexes, including Notch, which is believed to play a role in activating pathways that contribute to desmoid tumor growth.

In addition, gamma secretase has been shown to directly cleave membrane-bound BCMA, resulting in the release of the BCMA extracellular domain, or ECD, from the cell surface. By inhibiting gamma secretase, membrane-bound BCMA can be preserved, increasing target density while reducing levels of soluble BCMA ECD, which may serve as decoy receptors for BCMA-directed therapies. Nirogacestat’s ability to enhance the activity of BCMA-directed therapies has been observed in preclinical models of multiple myeloma. SpringWorks is evaluating nirogacestat as a BCMA potentiator and has six collaborations with industry-leading BCMA developers to evaluate nirogacestat in combinations across modalities, including with an antibody-drug conjugate, two CAR T cell therapies and two bispecific antibodies. In addition, SpringWorks and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have entered into a sponsored research agreement to further characterize the ability of nirogacestat to modulate BCMA and potentiate BCMA directed therapies using a variety of preclinical and patient-derived multiple myeloma models developed by researchers at Fred Hutch.

Nirogacestat has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of desmoid tumors and from the European Commission for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The FDA also granted Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, unresectable, recurrent or refractory desmoid tumors or deep fibromatosis.

On June 28, 2021 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the company’s Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for ORIC-533 to proceed into a first-in-human clinical trial. ORIC-533 is a highly potent, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, JUN 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234584394]).

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The FDA clearance of our IND application for ORIC-533 is a significant milestone for ORIC as we move into the clinic with a second novel, internally discovered oncology drug candidate," said Jacob Chacko, M.D., president and chief executive officer. "In preclinical studies, ORIC-533 has demonstrated higher potency within a high AMP environment compared to all CD73 and adenosine receptor inhibitors against which it was compared. Furthermore, in addition to the potential best-in-class properties of ORIC-533, we are excited about its differentiated clinical development plan that will explore its single agent activity in contrast to the combination studies that dominate the CD73 field today."

Based on a preclinical collaboration with an academic key opinion leader that generated compelling single agent activity in patient derived model systems in an undisclosed tumor type, the company plans to pursue a single agent clinical development plan in this indication. ORIC plans to initiate the Phase 1 clinical trial with ORIC-533 in the second half of 2021 to evaluate safety, PK and preliminary efficacy in cancer patients.

This is the first of three planned IND/CTA filings for 2021, with the IND filing for ORIC-944 and CTA filing for ORIC-114 expected in the second half of the year.

About ORIC-533

ORIC-533 is a highly potent, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens. ORIC-533 has demonstrated greater potency in preclinical studies compared to an antibody approach, other small molecule CD73 inhibitors and inhibitors of adenosine receptors. Preclinical data suggest ORIC-533 binds CD73 with high affinity and effectively blocks adenosine-driven immunosuppression in a high AMP environment. In preclinical studies, nanomolar concentrations of ORIC-533 efficiently rescued cytotoxic T-cell function in the presence of high AMP concentrations, reflective of AMP levels observed in tumors.