On January 17, 2017 BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: BLRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, in-licensing and developing promising therapeutic candidates, reported the initiation of a second Phase 2a trial investigating BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (Filing, 6-K, BioLineRx, JAN 17, 2017, View Source [SID1234517419]). The study is part of a research collaboration between MSD and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! The open-label, single center, single-arm Phase 2a study aims to evaluate the potential of BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA in pancreatic cancer and focuses on the mechanism-of-action by which both drugs might synergize. In addition to assessing clinical response, the study includes multiple assessments to evaluate the biological anti-tumor effects induced by the combination.
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In August 2016, the Company announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for the investigation of BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA in pancreatic cancer. The investigator-sponsored study is part of a strategic, immuno-oncology, clinical research collaboration between MSD (known as Merck in the US and Canada) and MD Anderson Cancer Center aimed at evaluating Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA, in combination with various treatments and novel drugs.
Philip Serlin, Chief Executive Officer of BioLineRx, said, "This is the second Phase 2 immuno-oncology trial taking place to investigate the combination of BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In September 2016, we announced the initiation of the COMBAT study, our first Phase 2a study for evaluating the clinical efficacy of BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA, also for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. The COMBAT study, which is being conducted by BioLineRx under a collaboration agreement between BioLineRx and MSD is also currently recruiting patients. We believe that the trial announced today will support the COMBAT study and deepen our understanding of the mechanism-of-action of the combination treatment."
"We also believe that the combination of BL-8040 with KEYTRUDA has the potential to expand the benefit of immunotherapy to non-respondent patients and cancer types currently resistant to immuno-oncology treatments, such as pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, BL-8040’s inhibition of CXCR4, which may affect the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment, is potentially synergistic with immune checkpoint inhibitors in additional oncological indications," added Mr. Serlin.
Dr. David Fogelman, from MD Anderson Cancer Center, the principal investigator of the trial, stated, "We hope that BL-8040 will prime the immune system and increase the anti-tumor activity of Keytruda. We have designed the study to look for evidence of this, both in the tumors themselves and in the patient as a whole. If this combination is successful, we will move pancreatic cancer research forward in a new direction."
BL-8040, BioLineRx’s lead oncology platform, is a CXCR4 antagonist that has been shown in several clinical trials to be a robust mobilizer of immune cells and to be effective at inducing direct tumor cell death. Additional findings in the field of immuno-oncology suggest that CXCR4 antagonists may be effective in inducing the infiltration of anti-tumor T cells into the tumor. Therefore, when combined with KEYTRUDA, which blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes, BL-8040 has the potential to enable activated T cells to better reach tumor cells in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancers of all types are the seventh most common cause of cancer deaths. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015, nearly 50,000 were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 40,000 will die from the disease. The most common type of pancreatic cancer is pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which accounts for about 85 percent of cases. These adenocarcinomas start within the part of the pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. There are usually no symptoms in the early stages of the disease and symptoms that are specific enough to suggest the onset of pancreatic cancer typically do not develop until the disease has reached an advanced stage. The five-year survival rate of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is around seven percent.
About BL-8040
BL-8040 is a short peptide for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors, and certain hematological indications. It functions as a high-affinity antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity. In a number of clinical and pre-clinical studies, BL-8040 has shown robust mobilization of cancer cells from the bone marrow, thereby sensitizing these cells to chemo- and bio-based anti-cancer therapy, as well as a direct anti-cancer effect by inducing apoptosis. In addition, BL-8040 has also demonstrated robust stem-cell mobilization, including the mobilization of colony-forming cells, and T, B and NK cells. BL-8040 was licensed by BioLineRx from Biokine Therapeutics and was previously developed under the name BKT-140.