Advaxis and Personalis Announce Research Agreement to Deploy ImmunoID NeXT Platform in the ADXS-503 Clinical Program

On February 11, 2020 Advaxis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADXS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapy products, and Personalis Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for cancer, reported a collaboration to leverage Personalis’ ImmunoID NeXT Platform in Advaxis’ ongoing Phase 1/2 ADXS-503 (HOT Lung) program evaluating ADXS-503 alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Press release, Advaxis, FEB 11, 2020, View Source [SID1234554169]). The ADXS-503 construct targets 11 public or shared, hotspot neoantigens in KRAS, EGFR and TP53 as well as 11 proprietary tumor-associated antigen targets. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Personalis will conduct comprehensive tumor immunogenomic profiling to enable the identification of predictive composite biomarkers and/or signatures of response, as well as the broad evaluation of potential mechanisms of therapy resistance.

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Via the deep analysis of ~20,000 genes in both DNA and RNA, ImmunoID NeXT consolidates multiple biomarker assays into one; providing a multidimensional view of the tumor and the immune microenvironment from a single sample. The platform is an end-to-end solution for immuno- and precision oncology biomarker discovery and CDx development.

"We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Personalis and believe the resulting analyses may lead to the establishment of predictive biomarkers and the characterization of immunological impact of treatment which will be relevant to the successful development of ADXS-503 and our other off-the-shelf neoantigen constructs," said Dr. Andres A. Gutierrez, Chief Medical Officer of Advaxis. "With the emerging clinical signals we are seeing in our ongoing ADXS-503 clinical study and the extensive capabilities of ImmunoID NeXT to interrogate a patient’s tumor and immune response at both the DNA- and RNA-level from a single FFPE tissue sample, the analysis will help guide our development plans in order to target the right patient population and to potentially increase the clinical benefit of our off-the-shelf, ADXS-HOT drug constructs."

This new agreement builds upon the prior two-year collaboration between Advaxis and Personalis for the genomic analysis of clinical tumor samples to manufacture the Company’s ADXS-NEO drug construct, its personalized, neoantigen-directed immunotherapy to treat a variety of late stage cancers. As previously published, the ADXS-NEO drug constructs were able to efficiently generate de novo CD8+ T cells versus KRAS and EGFR hotspot mutations in late stage-cancer patients, thus providing proof-of-mechanism for our ADXS-HOT program.

Phosplatin Therapeutics Presents Positive Data from Two Phase I Studies in Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

On February 11, 2020 Phosplatin Therapeutics LLC, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on oncology drug development, reported it will present clinical data in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, demonstrating safety and biological activity of PT-112 in a heavily refractory population of late-stage prostate cancer patients from two separate Phase I studies (Press release, Phosplatin, FEB 11, 2020, View Source [SID1234554185]).

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"The unmet need in heavily pre-treated patients with mCRPC is extensive, and we believe that PT-112’s immunogenic cell death (ICD) induction and its biodistribution, including osteotropism, are responsible for the encouraging drug activity we have observed among Phase I patients," said Jose Jimeno, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer. "These are the first data presented publicly with PT-112 used in a single-disease sub-population. PT-112’s demonstrable activity and attractive safety profile in both the monotherapy and combination cohorts underscores the potential for future clinical development in this late-stage setting of mCRPC," said Robert Fallon, President & CEO of Phosplatin Therapeutics.

Phosplatin’s novel Immunogenic Cell Death (ICD) inducing agent, PT-112, is shown to be well-tolerated with evidence of drug activity in advanced mCRPC as both monotherapy and in combination with avelumab*, an anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, in heavily pre-treated patients with prostate cancer with a median of 6 prior lines of therapy. Bone pain improvement and nearly universal observation of alkaline phosphatase reduction suggest marked therapeutic activity of PT-112 in bone metastases, likely a consequence of osteotropism conferred by the drug’s pyrophosphate moiety. Serologic and RECIST-defined responses, as well as prolonged disease control in multiple patients substantiate further development of PT-112 in mCRPC, as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition.

The poster #D7, abstract number 83, entitled, "PT-112 in advanced metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), as monotherapy or in combination with PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab: Findings from two phase I studies," available here, will be presented by Alan H. Bryce, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Chair, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, on Thursday, February 13, 2020 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM and 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PST at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.

Phosplatin Therapeutics entered a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Pfizer and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2017 to evaluate PT-112, a novel small molecule inducer of immunogenic cell death (ICD) in combination with avelumab*, a human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody.

Further information on these clinical trials that are currently open can be found at the clinicaltrials.gov registry under NCT 02266745 and NCT 03409458.

*Avelumab is under clinical investigation for treatment of solid tumors in combination with PT-112. There is no guarantee that avelumab will be approved for use in prostate cancer by any health authority.

About PT-112

PT-112 is a novel anti-cancer agent, the first cytotoxic small molecule conjugate of pyrophosphate developed in oncology therapeutics. PT-112 promotes immunogenic cell death (ICD), or the release of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that lead to downstream immune effector cell recruitment in the tumor microenvironment. PT-112 represents a potential best-in-class small molecule inducer of this immunological form of cancer cell death. The first-in-human study of PT-112 demonstrated an attractive safety profile and evidence of long-lasting responses and tumor control among heavily pre-treated patients, and was presented at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2018 Annual Congress, winning "Best Poster" among the Developmental Therapeutics category. The novelty of its pyrophosphate moiety also results in osteotropism, or the propensity of the drug to reach the mineralized bone. This property is of interest in cancer types with metastatic bone involvement, such as mCRPC.

Avelumab Approved Indications

Avelumab (BAVENCIO) in combination with axitinib is indicated in the US, EU, Japan and other countries for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also granted accelerated approval for avelumab (BAVENCIO) for the treatment of (i) adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC) and (ii) patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy, or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy. These indications are approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for these indications may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

Avelumab is currently approved for patients with mMCC in 50 countries globally, with the majority of these approvals in a broad indication that is not limited to a specific line of treatment.

Avelumab Important Safety Information from the US FDA-Approved Label

The warnings and precautions for avelumab (BAVENCIO) include immune-mediated adverse reactions (such as pneumonitis and hepatitis [including fatal cases], colitis, endocrinopathies, nephritis and renal dysfunction and other adverse reactions [which can be severe and have included fatal cases]), infusion-related reactions, hepatotoxicity, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) [which can be severe and have included fatal cases], and embryo-fetal toxicity.

Common adverse reactions (reported in at least 20% of patients) in patients treated with BAVENCIO monotherapy include fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, diarrhea, nausea, infusion-related reaction, peripheral edema, decreased appetite/hypophagia, urinary tract infection and rash. Common adverse reactions (reported in at least 20% of patients) in patients receiving BAVENCIO in combination with axitinib include diarrhea, fatigue, hypertension, musculoskeletal pain, nausea, mucositis, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, dysphonia, decreased appetite, hypothyroidism, rash, hepatotoxicity, cough, dyspnea, abdominal pain and headache. Grade 3-4 clinical chemistry and hematology laboratory value abnormalities reported in at least 10% of patients treated with BAVENCIO monotherapy include hyponatremia, lymphopenia, GGT increased; in patients receiving BAVENCIO in combination with axitinib, grade 3-4 clinical chemistry and hematology laboratory value abnormalities included blood triglyceride increased and lipase increased.

Agios to Present at the Leerink 9th Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, February 25, 2020

On February 11, 2020 Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, reported that the company is scheduled to present at the Leerink 9th Annual Global Healthcare Conference in New York City on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. ET (Press release, Agios Pharmaceuticals, FEB 11, 2020, View Source [SID1234554134]).

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A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the company’s website at www.agios.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Agios website for at least two weeks following the presentation.

BrainCool AB completes recruitment in trial for FDA clearance of oral mucositis treatment

On February 11, 2020 BrainCool AB, a Swedish medical device innovator, and a world leader in medical cooling technology for therapeutic hypothermia (brain cooling) and oncology, is reported that it has completed patient recruitment in the Scandinavian multi-center pivotal trial of 180 patients to investigate the patented Cooral System for prevention of Oral Mucositis (OM), one of the most debilitating side-effects of both standard and high-dose chemotherapeutic oncology treatments (Press release, BrainCool, FEB 11, 2020, View Source [SID1234554152]).

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In the United States (U.S.), BrainCool is conducting a De Novo 510 k regulatory process, with the aim of obtaining product and market clearance for the Cooral System in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The De Novo process was introduced by the FDA for instances where a device is novel and there is therefore no suitable predicate device to support a standard 510(k) submission. To qualify for the De Novo pathway, the new device must also present no more than moderate risk.

BrainCool has been granted FDA "Expedited Access Pathway" (EAP) status and will be given priority review for the Cooral System. EAP projects address unmet medical needs for life threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions that are subject to premarket approval applications (PMA), or are eligible for de novo requests.

"With full patient recruitment for our pivotal trial, we are opening an important new door in cancer care and treatment," said Martin Waleij, CEO BrainCool AB. "Conclusive validation that cryotherapeutic intervention with the Cooral System can safely and effectively prevent the excruciating side-effects of oral mucositis is not just a major medical milestone, it’s actually a matter of life and death."

The Cooral System intra-oral cooling device includes a disposable and thermostatically controlled mouthpiece that fills with a hypothermic liquid, which circulates through the system’s channels. As the coolant gradually reaches and maintains a consistently controlled temperature, the system reduces blood flow and exposure of tissue to radiation or chemotherapeutic agents, thus preventing adverse mucosal erythema and ulcerative reactions.

Details of the Clinical Study and the Expedited Access Pathway (EAP)

The Nordic clinical trial of 180 patients has been selected by the U.S. FDA as part of the De Novo 510 process for obtaining market clearance in the U.S. Patients have been recruited over a period of two years across five important medical centers, including the lead site, Karolinska Universitetsjukhuset in Stockholm, Sweden.

Clinical data from the Nordic trial will be applicable for FDA submission. BrainCool is currently working on a module-based application wherein the first two modules contain quality routines for product development and manufacturing. The third and final module will contain clinical data from the completed Pivotal trial and will be submitted as soon as the results are available. Thereafter FDA will review the documentation and decide on a product and market approval.

About Oral Mucositis (OM)

Oral Mucositis significantly affects the quality of life for cancer patients in terms of pain, ability to eat, swallow and talk. The symptoms are often of such severity that they result in an interruption and curtailment of therapy. OM can also lead to dose reduction of the cancer therapy and treatment delays. In many cases these patients require hospitalization. OM has a direct and significant effect on the duration of disease remission and cure rates due to its dose-limiting toxicity. In some cases, risk for infection threatens survival, and there is a significant impact on quality of life and cost of care. The presence of OM is a major driver of health-care cost. Read more: View Source

FibroGen to Present at 9th Annual SVB Leerink Global Healthcare Conference

On February 11, 2020 FibroGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN) reported that it will participate in the 9th Annual SVB Leerink Global Healthcare Conference on February 25, 2020 (Press release, FibroGen, FEB 11, 2020, View Source [SID1234554170]). Enrique Conterno, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at 3:30 PM Eastern Time. A live audio webcast will be available on the "Events & Presentations" section of the FibroGen website at www.fibrogen.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days.

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