On June 22, 2020 ImmunSYS, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer immunotherapy products, reported results from a proof of concept (PoC) study evaluating its proprietary technology platform, YourVaccx for the treatment of patients with metastatic cancers (Press release, ImmunSYS, JUN 22, 2020, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=50-complete-response-rate-observed-in-yourvaccxtm-study-for-patients-with-metastatic-prostate-cancer-was-presented-at-the-aacr-virtual-annual-meeting-ii [SID1234561319]).

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The retrospective, IRB approved case series was independently monitored by a contract research organization. A total of 27 patients were enrolled, including 21 with metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa), and 6 with metastatic cancers of varying types: 2 bladder, 1 pancreatic, 1 melanoma, 1 colon cancer and 1 unknown. A single treatment cycle consisted of in situ cryosurgical lysis of tumor tissue followed by a direct injection of a combination of anti CTLA-4 antibody, anti PD-1 antibody and GM-CSF into the target treatment zone, followed by 30 days of daily subcutaneous GM-CSF. The patients were assessed after the completion of therapy, which varied from between 1 and 3 cycles of treatment. All responses to therapy were assessed by RECIST v. 1.1 and metastatic prostate cancer patients were also assessed by serum PSA levels. 3 patients could not be evaluated due to a lack of follow-up imaging. For all evaluable patients, the PoC study data showed a 38% (9/24) complete response rate (CR) and a 4% (1/24) partial response rate (PR), for an objective response rate (ORR) of 42% (10/24). The combination therapy was
generally well tolerated.

Key findings in mPCa patients:

Among the 18 evaluable mPCa patients, there was a 50% (9/18) CR
50% (9/18) ORR
62% (13/21) of patients had post-therapy PSA reductions of ≥ 50%
The majority of responses have been durable, with 5 of 9 CRs persisting from 12 months to over 51 months to date
6 Grade 3-4 adverse events occurred in 14.3% (3/21), with no treatment-related deaths

"We are pleased to present these encouraging findings at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) virtual annual meeting II," said Eamonn Hobbs, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ImmunSYS. "These results demonstrate longterm, durable responses, ranging from 1 to 4.5 years, and a favorable tolerability profile in tough-to-treat patient populations. There is an unmet need for effective treatment options for patients with metastatic cancers and these data demonstrate the potential that YourVaccx has to significantly improve the lives of patients."

Our poster #6540 entitled, "Regression of metastatic cancer and abscopal effects following in situ vaccination by cryosurgical tumor cell lysis and intratumoral immunotherapy: A case series" and accompanying audio clip narrated by Gary Onik, M.D. is now available at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting II.

On June 22, 2020 Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: LNTH), the parent company of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. ("LMI"), a global leader in the development, manufacture and commercialization of innovative diagnostic imaging agents and products, reported that it has completed its previously announced merger with Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Progenics") (Nasdaq: PGNX), an oncology company developing innovative medicines and artificial intelligence to find, fight and follow cancer (Press release, Lantheus Medical Imaging, JUN 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234561335]). The merger agreement was first announced on October 2, 2019.

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"Today marks an important day for Lantheus and Progenics. This combination forms an innovative company with a diversified diagnostics and therapeutics portfolio," said Mary Anne Heino, Lantheus President and Chief Executive Officer. "The transaction leverages Lantheus’ long-standing expertise in complex manufacturing, supply chain and commercial excellence, with Progenics’ three leading FDA approved products, clinical pipeline and development capabilities. We’re excited to welcome the talented Progenics employees to the Lantheus organization to help build upon our solid foundation."

Upon completion of the merger, Progenics stockholders received, for each share of Progenics common stock, 0.31 of a share of Lantheus common stock and one non-tradeable contingent value right, which is payable in two contingent payments, subject to a cap, upon the achievement of certain milestones related to the financial performance of PyLTM (18F-DCFPyL), Progenics’ prostate-specific membrane antigen targeted imaging agent designed to visualize prostate cancer.

The Company will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LNTH. Progenics is being delisted.

On June 22, 2020 Ikena Oncology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company that discovers and develops patient-directed, biomarker-driven therapies, reported the presentation of new preclinical research highlighting the anti-proliferative and anti-tumor effects of Ikena-developed compounds targeting the Hippo signaling pathway through the inhibition of TEAD at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting II, taking place June 22-24, 2020 (Press release, Ikena Oncology, JUN 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234561351]).

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The TEAD (TEA domain) family of transcription factors downstream of the Hippo signaling pathway elicits a gene expression signature that plays a prominent role in cancer development, progression, and metastasis. Increased Hippo pathway activity sustains proliferation, inhibits apoptosis, promotes angiogenesis, and is associated with resistance to multiple therapies. Inhibition of TEAD has been and remains an attractive opportunity for a novel targeted cancer therapy.

"The Hippo pathway is highly mutated across many cancer types, including in mesothelioma, ovarian and breast cancers, and its activation is correlated with an overall poor prognosis in patients. Therefore, we have insights into which patients will most likely benefit from a TEAD-targeted therapy," said Jeffrey Ecsedy, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Ikena Oncology. "The AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) presentation this year highlights promising pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and in vivo efficacy results in mesothelioma models for multiple lead TEAD inhibitor candidates identified by Ikena. These compounds are in studies to narrow in on a development candidate that we look forward to progressing into IND-enabling studies during the second half of 2020."

Ikena’s Novel Small Molecule TEAD Inhibitors

Ikena researchers rationally designed and developed multiple novel, potent, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitors that reversibly and irreversibly bind to the central lipid (palmitate) binding pocket of TEAD family members. These inhibitors prevent TEAD palmitoylation, a process that is essential for the interaction between the transcriptional co-regulators YAP (Yes-associated protein) or TAZ (transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif) with TEAD, and lead to downregulation of the YAP/TAZ-TEAD-dependent transcription. Binding of these TEAD inhibitors to the central lipid binding pocket was observed using crystallography.

The Effects of TEAD Inhibition In Vitro and In Vivo

When evaluated in vitro, Ikena’s TEAD inhibitors demonstrated anti-proliferative properties in Hippo pathway-driven cancer cell lines, but not in Hippo pathway wildtype cancer cell lines. Subsequent in vivo experiments in human tumor xenograft mouse models demonstrated that oral administration of these TEAD inhibitors was well tolerated and that TEAD-dependent transcription in the tumors was inhibited. Robust anti-tumor activity was observed in two separate Hippo pathway-mutated mesothelioma xenografts. Translational studies to identify additional tumor types that are Hippo pathway-driven and dependent on TEAD function are in progress.

"The Hippo pathway is hijacked in many cancer types and we believe that by disrupting TEAD transcription, we can prevent tumors from proliferating and evading the body’s immune system," said Mark Manfredi, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Ikena Oncology. "We believe our TEAD inhibitor candidates have the potential to be active across several types of Hippo-driven cancers, both as single-agent therapy and in combination with other standard of care oncology agents to overcome therapeutic resistance."

Details for the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Meeting II presentation are as follows:

Title: Potent small molecule TEAD inhibitors targeting the Hippo pathway exhibit antiproliferation in vitro and anti-tumor effect in vivo
Lead author: Ben Amidon, Ikena Oncology
Abstract #: 2474
Poster Board #: 18
Session: PO.MCB04.02 – Gene Regulation and Transcription Factors 2
Date and Time: Monday, June 22, 2020; 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
URL: View Source!/9045/presentation/6122

On June 22, 2020 ESSA Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: EPIX); (TSXV: EPI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer, reported new preclinical data on ESSA’s clinical candidate, EPI-7386, at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) ("AACR") Virtual Annual Meeting II (Press release, ESSA, JUN 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234561367]).

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In an oral poster presentation titled, "Preclinical development of the second-generation N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor, EPI-7386, for the treatment of prostate cancer", a robust preclinical characterization of EPI-7386 including androgen receptor (AR) binding, gene expression analyses and the toxicologic profile was presented. The studies highlight new information about EPI-7386 including:

Full-length AR target engagement by EPI-7386 was confirmed in a cellular thermal shift assay.
In vitro cellular gene expression analyses demonstrate that EPI-7386:
Inhibits AR transcriptional activity similar to enzalutamide but with a few notable qualitative and quantitative differences in an enzalutamide-sensitive cellular model.
In the same cellular model, combination treatment of EPI-7386 with enzalutamide displays broader and deeper inhibition of AR-associated transcriptional activity than higher doses of each single agent alone.
Shows superior activity to enzalutamide in an AR-V7-driven cellular model by modulating both AR-FL and AR-V7-driven gene expression.
Toxicology studies evaluating the safety profile of EPI-7386 demonstrate that:
Very high plasma exposures of EPI-7386 were achieved across all studies.
Tolerability in 28-days tox studies in rats and dogs at AUC ≤ 2,000,000 ng*hr/mL, with activity seen on androgen-sensitive target organs in dogs.
The highest doses tested were characterized as the HNSTD (highest non-severely toxic dose) and only exhibited body weight loss and reduced food consumption. The drug plasma exposures achieved at this high dose were 7-10 fold higher than the efficacious exposures achieved in mouse xenograft models.
The starting clinical dose of EPI-7386 will be 200 mg given once-daily
"Our latest transcriptomic analyses add to the breadth of preclinical data supporting the development of EPI-7386 broadly in prostate cancer. With the favorable toxicologic profile of EPI-7386 observed in our IND-enabling studies at very high exposures, we will initiate dosing at 200 mg per day, which potentially could allow us to efficiently reach biologically relevant blood levels of EPI-7386 in patients," said Dr. David R. Parkinson, President & Chief Executive Officer. "We will soon begin dosing patients in our Phase 1 monotherapy study of EPI-7386 in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients whose tumors are progressing on current anti-androgens.".

On June 22, 2020 Forbius, a clinical-stage protein engineering company that develops biotherapeutics to treat cancer and fibrosis, reported that it will participate at SVB Leerink’s inaugural Biopharma Private Company Connect July 7th-9th, 2020 (Press release, Forbius, JUN 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234561276]).

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