On February 13, 2020 FORMA Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare hematologic diseases and cancers, reported the online publication of the structure-based design and discovery of its most advanced clinical asset, olutasidenib, in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (Press release, Forma Therapeutics, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234554266]). The paper details structure-based approaches to design a potent mutant IDH1 inhibitor with pharmacokinetic properties that include blood-brain barrier permeability. The paper is also expected to be published in the Feb. 27 print edition of the journal.

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"This work highlights FORMA’s efforts to discover and develop highly selective, potent molecules to create breakthrough medicines for patients with rare hematologic diseases and cancers," said Patrick Kelly, M.D., chief medical officer of FORMA Therapeutics. "Olutasidenib is a viable oral clinical compound that potently and selectively inhibits 2-hydroxyglutarate production, and these results lead us to believe it will be able to restore normal cellular differentiation in IDH1-mutated cancers."

FORMA discovered olutasidenib through the company’s innovative drug discovery platform, which combines high throughput screening with DNA-encoded library screens for lead identification and then utilizes a highly technology-leveraged parallel optimization process to develop lead candidates. The program has since been moved into the clinic to allow further investigation of its demonstrated potential. Additional information about proof of mechanism and differentiating clinical data for FORMA’s program in glioma was presented at the 2019 Society for Neuro-Oncology Conference.

"We are extremely proud of the technical and scientific prowess our team has demonstrated by yielding a diverse pipeline of novel or next-generation oral medicines for FORMA’s own continued development and development by licensees of our molecules," Dr. Kelly added.

About Olutasidenib

FORMA Therapeutics’ most advanced clinical asset, olutasidenib, is designed to be a potent and selective next generation inhibitor of mutated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1m) to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), as well as patients with glioma and other solid tumors with an IDH1 mutation. IDH1 is a natural enzyme that is part of the normal metabolism in all cells; when mutated, its activity can promote blood malignancies and solid tumors. IDH1 mutations are present in 7-14% of patients with AML, 3-4% of patients with MDS, and more than 70% of patients with gliomas. In AML, hypermethylation driven by IDH mutations inhibits normal differentiation of progenitor cells leading to accumulation of immature blasts. Quality of life declines for patients with each successive line of treatment for AML, and well-tolerated treatments in relapsed disease remain an unmet need. In MDS, often a precursor to AML, epigenetic changes from aberrant DNA methylation contribute to the formation of blast cells and the progression of MDS to AML.

FORMA is evaluating olutasidenib as a single agent and in combination with azacitidine in a pivotal study in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) with an IDH1 mutation. Additional patient populations with IDH1m hematological oncology disease or advanced solid tumors and gliomas are also being evaluated.

On February 13, 2020 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported Scientists report promising activity of a novel drug that targets a key molecular driver of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in patients with metastatic disease (Press release, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234554290]).

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Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report a response rate of 24 percent across all risk categories of patients given an oral first-in-class agent that targets hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 2-a, which promotes new blood vessel growth that fuels kidney tumors.

Results of treatment with the drug, known as MK-6482, are being presented in an abstract of a phase I/II study at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Based on these findings, a phase III trial has been launched.

"A new drug as a single agent showing an overall response rate of 24 percent across all risk categories – poor, intermediate, and good and in a heavily refractory population – is quite promising," said Toni Choueiri, MD, first author of the abstract. Choueiri is director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology and the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The drug targets a component of the body’s mechanism for sensing oxygen levels and turning on genes that enable the body to adjust to hypoxia – a shortage of oxygen – by making more red blood cells and forming new blood vessels. Dana-Farber scientist and Choueiri’s mentor and collaborator William G. Kaelin Jr., MD shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine with two other researchers for unraveling this complex mechanism, which can be hijacked by cancer to help tumors survive and grow.

In the vast majority of patients with clear cell renal carcinoma, a tumor suppressor protein known as Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) is not functional. As a result, hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) proteins accumulate inside the tumor cell, wrongly signaling there is a shortage of oxygen, and activating the formation of blood vessels, fueling tumor growth. Understanding this abnormal process has paved the way for new cancer drugs – MK-6482 being one of them and is distinct in that it targets HIF-2a directly leading to blocking cancer cell growth, proliferation, and abnormal blood vessel formation.

The study of MK-6482 included 55 patients with advanced clear cell kidney cancer who had an average of 3 prior lines of therapies.

After a median follow-up period of 13 months, the overall response rate was 24 percent. Forty-one patients had stable disease with a disease control rate (complete response plus partial response plus stable disease) of 80 percent. There were partial responses in two of five favorable-risk patients; 10 of 40 intermediate-risk patients; and one of 10 poor-risk patients.

The median duration of response had not been reached: 81 percent of patients had an estimated response of more than six months, and 16 patients continued treatment beyond 12 months. The median progression-free response rate was 11 months.

The authors concluded that MK-6482 "is well-tolerated with a favorable safety profile and demonstrated promising single-agent activity in heavily pre-treated patients" with clear-cell kidney cancer across the various risk groups.

The presentation (Abstract 611) is scheduled for Oral Abstract Session C: Renal Cell Cancer on Saturday, February 15, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. (PT) at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in the Moscone West Building, San Francisco, CA.

Funding for this research was provided by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Choueiri has pending patents for biomarkers of immune checkpoint blockers. Choueiri’s disclosures include grants, personal fees or nonfinancial support from Agensys, Alexion, Alligent, Analysis Group, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Calithera, Cerulean, Clinical Care Options, Corvus, Eli Lilly, Esai, Exelixis, Foundation Medicine Inc., Genentech, Roche, F. Hoffman-La Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Heron Therapeutics, Harborside Press, American Society of Medical Oncology, Ipsen, NCCN, Kidney Cancer Journal, L-path, Merck, Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Research to Practice, Navinata Healthcare, NEJM, Novartis, Peloton, Pfizer, EMD Serono, Platform Q, Prometheus Labs, Sanofi/Aventis, Takeda, Tracon, Pionyr, Tempest, The Lancet Oncology and Up-to-Date.

On February 13, 2020 Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical‐stage immuno-oncology company at the forefront of cell-based oncolytic virus immunotherapies for cancer, reported pre-clinical data on their lead oncolytic virus candidate SNV1 (allogeneic adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells loaded with tumor selective CAL1 vaccinia virus) in a poster presentation at the 2020 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium (Press release, Calidi Biotherapeutics, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234554306]).

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SNV1 demonstrated enhanced therapeutic effects when compared to naked vaccinia virus across multiple human cancer cell lines and animal tumor models. "The biggest hurdle in oncolytic virotherapy is the quick elimination of an oncolytic virus by the patient’s immune system," said Boris Minev, MD, President, Medical and Scientific Affairs, Calidi Biotherapeutics. "We presented data documenting potent anti-tumor and immunologic effects not only at the SNV1-injected site, but also at distant non-treated tumor sites. These abscopal effects on non-injected tumors support our premise that Calidi’s proprietary stem cell vehicle and vaccinia virus combination can modulate the tumor microenvironment and activate the immune system making it a powerful combination therapy partner in immuno-oncology. We look forward to exploring partnerships and licensing opportunities with other companies working in this space."

SNV1 was analyzed for its ability to kill cancer cell lines in vitro, and protect and potentiate the oncolytic virus even in the presence of active neutralizing antibodies and complement. SNV1 was also injected intratumorally in various xenograft and syngeneic animal models. Immune cell infiltration of the injected tumors was analyzed by flow cytometry of tumor-derived single cell suspensions. Intratumoral SNV1 treatment showed statistically significant tumor growth inhibition when compared to control (non-treated tumors) or to CAL1 naked virus treatment in all tested syngeneic tumor models (breast, melanoma, colon, and prostate cancers). Importantly, the local administration of SNV1 induced systemic therapeutic effects as well as modulation of local and distant tumor immune infiltration.

The therapeutic premise behind Calidi’s cell-based platform is to protect and potentiate the oncolytic vaccinia virus by circumventing humoral innate and adaptive immune barriers, resulting in enhanced oncolytic virotherapy. These findings provide a fundamental rationale for the development of cell-based platforms to maximize the therapeutic potential of various oncolytic viruses. A copy of the abstract and poster presentation materials can be found in the Publications section of the Calidi Biotherapeutics website.

On February 13, 2020 Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) reported that Homi Shamir, President & CEO, and Harriss Currie, Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO, plan to participate at three investor conferences in March 2020 (Press release, Luminex, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234554322]).

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Morgan Stanley European MedTech & Services Conference in London, England on March 3, 2020: one-on-one investor meetings. Webcasts are not available for this Morgan Stanley event.
Barclays Global Healthcare Conference in Miami, Florida on March 11, 2020: one-on-one investor meetings and live webcast of "fireside chat" with an analyst and investors on March 11 at 10:45 a.m. to 11:10am Eastern Time. The webcast may be accessed at Luminex’s website at investor.luminexcorp.com. The session will be archived for six months on the website using the ‘replay’ link.
BTIG MedTech, Digital Health, Life Science & Diagnostic Tools Conference in Snowbird, Utah on March 19, 2020: one-on-one investor meetings. Webcasts are not available for this BTIG event.

On February 13, 2020 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF) (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address inflammatory, cancer and liver diseases, reported it has submitted the study’s protocol design and registration plan for its pivotal Phase III liver cancer trial to the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Product and Human Use (CHMP) (Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234554267]). The Phase III pivotal trial will evaluate the efficacy of its drug candidate Namodenoson in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with underlying Child Pugh B7 (CPB7) cirrhosis, whose cancer has progressed on first line therapy

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The filing with the EMA follows Can-Fite’s successful conclusion of its End-of-Phase II meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in which the FDA agreed with Can-Fite’s proposed pivotal Phase III trial design to support a New Drug Application (NDA) submission and approval of Namodenoson in the treatment of HCC.

"Having submitted our study design to both U.S. and European regulators, we look forward to initiating this Phase III study. Should Namodenoson meet the study’s primary endpoint of improved overall survival for liver cancer patients, then we intend to file for concurrent approval of our drug in both the U.S. and Europe, two of the largest healthcare markets in the world," stated Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman.

DelveInsight estimates the HCC drug market will reach $3.8 billion in 2027 in the G8 countries. According to the American Cancer Society, in the U.S. liver cancer incidence has tripled since 1980, with an estimated 42,000 cases diagnosed and 32,000 deaths annually. Incidence of liver cancer is much higher in other countries, with more than 800,000 diagnoses and 700,000 deaths estimated globally each year.

About Namodenoson

Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). Namodenoson is being evaluated as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, with a recently completed Phase II trial and planned Phase III trial in this indication. The drug is currently in an ongoing Phase II trial as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential effect accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug.