On December 9, 2019 Nouscom, an immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalized cancer neoantigen vaccines, reported that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating its lead candidate, NOUS-209 (Press release, NousCom, DEC 9, 2019, View Source;first-patient-dosed-in-a-phase-1-trial-with-nous-209-an-off-the-shelf-neoantigen-cancer-vaccine-in-msi-high-solid-tumors-300971098.html [SID1234552169]). In this first-in-human trial NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf therapeutic vaccine based on shared tumor neoantigens, is being administered to patients with Microsatellite Instable High (MSI-H) gastric, colorectal and gastro-esophageal junction cancers (tumors characterized by a defective DNA mismatch repair system) in combination with the anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

NOUS-209-01 (NCT04041310) is a US multicenter Phase 1 open-label, dose-escalation study, assessing the safety and tolerability of the NOUS-209 vaccine in combination with pembrolizumab to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose. The study will evaluate vaccine-induced immune responses, as well as preliminary signs of anti-tumor activity in enrolled patients. Based on preclinical data, NOUS-209 is expected to induce potent and broad CD8+ and CD4+ responses in humans. Initial clinical data are expected in 2020.

Dr. Michael J. Overman, Principal Investigator of the trial and Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explained: "We have seen tremendous change in our approach to MSI-high metastatic solid tumors over the last few years, but the majority of patients do not respond to single agent immunotherapy. Hence, further optimization of our approach for MSI-high cancers is needed. Agents like NOUS-209 that stimulate the patient’s immune response and direct it specifically against the cancer cells reflect a tremendous scientific evolution in our understanding of these cancers and represents an extremely promising approach for these cancers."

Dr. Elisa Scarselli, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Nouscom, said "This first-in-human trial evaluating NOUS-209 in combination with pembrolizumab is a significant milestone for Nouscom. NOUS-209 leverages a core strength of the company’s platform, namely the capacity of its proprietary viral vectors to encode a large number of neoantigens. NOUS-209 was named because it comprises 209 shared Frame Shift Peptides (FSPs) selected using a proprietary algorithm. This feature of NOUS-209 enables it to be developed as an off-the-shelf neoantigen vaccine that does not require patient screening prior to treatment. Furthermore, it is designed to have broad coverage across the MSI patient population by targeting multiple neoantigens in each patient, and as such is expected to address tumor heterogeneity. We look forward to the initial clinical data in 2020."

On December 9, 2019 Aptose Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: APTO, TSX: APS) reported that highlights from a corporate event and clinical update held at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL (Press release, Aptose Biosciences, DEC 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234552103]). The event was hosted by the Aptose management team and included Stephen B. Howell, MD, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego (UCSD); with analysis by Rafael Bejar, MD, PhD, Aptose’s incoming Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer and currently the Director, MDS Center of Excellence, Moores Cancer Center, UCSD; and participation remotely by Brian J. Druker, MD, Chair of the Aptose Scientific Advisory Board, Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Director, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The slides are available and the recording of the presentation will be archived on Aptose’s website here shortly after the conclusion of the event.

As the first clinical data from CG-806 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have begun to emerge, Drs. Howell, Bejar, and Druker highlighted the consistency between the drug’s robust preclinical profile and the early clinical observations on safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and activity. William G. Rice, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aptose also provided a corporate update on the clinical activities of CG-806, Aptose’s highly potent pan-FLT3/pan-BTK inhibitor.

CG-806, an oral, first-in-class mutation-agnostic FLT3/BTK kinase inhibitor, is in a Phase 1 trial in patients with B cell malignancies, including CLL and non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), who have failed or are intolerant to standard therapies. The first two dose levels, which required only one patient at each level, are complete. The first two patients, both of whom were CLL patients that had previously failed a host of other agents, completed multiple dose cycles at 150 mg BID and 300 mg BID, respectively. Screening is ongoing for the third dose level, which is planned to enroll three patients.

Key findings from dose levels 1 and 2 of CG-806 in heavily pretreated R/R CLL patients:

CG-806’s safety profile remains clean; no unexpected toxicities have been observed to date
Notably, no myelosuppression, no drug-related adverse events or dose-limiting toxicity

Early evidence of clinical response has already been observed in a R/R CLL patient at dose level 2
Robust increase in peripheral blood lymphocytes (lymphocytosis)

Evidence of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) target engagement
Lymphocytosis, which is known as an indicator of BTK inhibition
Inhibition of Phospho-BTK, Phospho-SYK and Phospho-ERK have been observed with a plasma inhibitory assay (PIA) using plasma from the CLL patient on dose level 2

Meaningful oral absorption and predictable pharmacokinetic (PK) profile

Exposures are likely therapeutic for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients
A separate trial with CG-806 in relapsed/refractory AML patients is in the planning stage
APTO-253, the only clinical stage agent that directly targets the MYC oncogene, is demonstrating safety and MYC target engagement in a Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory AML or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Key highlights:

Aptose has completed dosing of the first three cohorts (up to a dose of 66 mg/m2) of the Phase 1b trial with MYC inhibitor APTO-253 in patients with AML and MDS.

In the patients on the first three dose cohorts, no drug-related adverse events have been observed, including no myelosuppression, and dosing is planned to continue to ascend until a maximum tolerated dose is reached. The next expected dosing level is 100 mg/m2.

MYC biomarker data from AML and MDS patients in the first three cohorts continue to demonstrate reductions of MYC gene expression in their peripheral blood cells. The dose escalation portion of the study is designed to transition, as appropriate, to single-agent expansion cohorts in AML and MDS, followed by combination studies.
The Company continues to escalate dosing with both assets, as all current dose cohorts to date have exhibited favorable safety profiles and evidence of target engagement.

On December 9, 2019 Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMMU) ("Immunomedics" or the "Company"), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the area of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), reported it has commenced an underwritten public offering of $250,000,000 of shares of its common stock (Press release, Immunomedics, DEC 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234552120]). In addition, Immunomedics expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of an additional $37,500,000 of shares of common stock sold in connection with the offering at the public offering price.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Immunomedics intends to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to accelerate commercial launch readiness, pending FDA approval, of sacituzumab govitecan in the United States in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, continue to expand the clinical development programs for sacituzumab govitecan, invest in the broader clinical development of the platform (including IMMU-130 and IMMU-140), continued scale-up of manufacturing and manufacturing process improvements, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Cowen and Company, LLC and Jefferies LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

The shares of common stock are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that Immunomedics filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 11, 2018 and that became effective upon filing. A preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering are being filed with the SEC and will be available at the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering may also be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, or by telephone at (866) 471-2526, or by email at [email protected]; BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by email at [email protected]; Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (833) 297-2926; or Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at 877-547-6340 or by email at [email protected].

On December 9, 2019 Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel oncology therapies, reported the presentation of updated interim clinical data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 CIRLL (Cirmtuzumab and Ibrutinib targeting ROR1 for Leukemia and Lymphoma) clinical trial, in which cirmtuzumab, an investigational anti-ROR1 monoclonal antibody, is being evaluated in combination with ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) (Press release, Oncternal Therapeutics, DEC 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234552138]). The results were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Orlando. A copy of the poster presentation is available online at www.oncternal.com.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Thirty-four patients with CLL who had never been treated with a BTK inhibitor were enrolled in the dose-finding and dose-confirming cohorts of this clinical trial, including 12 treatment-naïve and 22 relapsed/refractory patients, and all 34 were evaluable for efficacy. As of the data cut-off in early November 2019,

Twenty-nine of the 34 patients achieved a response, for an overall best objective response rate of 85%.
One patient achieved a complete response (CR) and remained in remission six months after completion of the trial and discontinuation of all anti-CLL therapy. In addition, three patients met radiographic and hematologic response criteria for Clinical CR, bone marrow biopsy not performed but pending.
Five patients had stable disease.
The total clinical benefit rate was 100%.
None of the patients progressed or died, for a progression-free survival (PFS) of 100% with a median follow-up of 7.4 months.
Patients achieved responses rapidly, with 68% of patients achieving a clinical response by three months on combination therapy.
The rise in leukemic cell counts that is typically seen in the first six months with ibrutinib monotherapy was blunted with the cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib combination, and leukemic cell counts returned toward baseline and normal levels rapidly.
Twelve patients with relapsed/refractory MCL, eight of whom were evaluable for efficacy, were enrolled in the dose-finding cohort of this trial. As of the data cut-off, five of the eight evaluable patients had achieved a clinical response, for an overall best objective response rate of 63% at a median follow-up of six months. Two patients with aggressive or bulky and heavily pre-treated MCL achieved CR, the longest of which is continuing with the patient on study for over 17 months. In addition, three patients had stable disease, for a total clinical benefit rate of 100%.

Cirmtuzumab as a single agent has been very well tolerated in this study. The combination of cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib has also been well tolerated, with adverse events consistent with those reported for ibrutinib alone. There have been no dose limiting toxicities and no serious adverse events attributed to cirmtuzumab alone.

Genetic analysis of CLL cells from three patients showed pre-treatment transcriptome profiles associated with a stemness signature and NF-kB-driven inflammation. Both genetic signatures were reversed in these patients following cirmtuzumab treatment.

"It is exciting to see that cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib continues to be well tolerated and has demonstrated 100% progression-free survival in patients with CLL, as well as encouraging early signals of efficacy in patients with MCL," said Michael Choi, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, who is the lead investigator for the CIRLL clinical trial.

The CIRLL clinical trial is supported by a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and is being conducted in collaboration with the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

"We are encouraged by the evidence of clinical activity and the safety data demonstrated by cirmtuzumab in the ongoing CIRLL clinical trial. We continue to be excited about its potential for the treatment of patients with ROR1-expressing cancers, including CLL, MCL, Her2-negative breast cancer and other solid tumors," said James Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., Oncternal’s President and CEO.

About the CIRLL Clinical Trial

The CIRLL clinical trial (CIRM-0001) is a Phase 1/2 trial evaluating cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib in separate groups of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Part 1 of the clinical trial was a Phase 1 dose-finding cohort designed to determine the Phase 2 dose, or recommended dosing regimen (RDR). Part 2 is a Phase 1b expansion cohort to confirm the RDR. Part 3 of the study, which is now open for enrollment, is a Phase 2 study in which approximately 90 patients with CLL will be randomized to receive either ibrutinib alone or ibrutinib plus cirmtuzumab, with a primary endpoint of complete response rate. Additional information about the CIRM-0001 clinical trial and other clinical trials of cirmtuzumab may be accessed at ClinicalTrials.gov.

About Cirmtuzumab

Cirmtuzumab is an investigational, potentially first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting ROR1, or Receptor tyrosine kinase-like Orphan Receptor 1. Cirmtuzumab is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with ibrutinib for the treatment of CLL and MCL, in a collaboration with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In addition, an investigator-initiated Phase 1 clinical trial of cirmtuzumab in combination with paclitaxel for women with metastatic breast cancer is being conducted at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. CIRM has also provided funding to support development programs for cirmtuzumab and a CAR-T therapy that targets ROR1, which is currently in preclinical development as a potential treatment for hematologic cancers and solid tumors.

ROR1 is a potentially attractive target for cancer therapy because it is an oncofetal antigen – a protein that confers a survival and fitness advantage when reactivated and expressed by tumor cells. When expressed by hematologic malignancies such as CLL and MCL, ROR1 acts as a receptor for the tumor growth factor Wnt5a. Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine discovered that targeting a critical epitope on ROR1 was key to inhibiting Wnt5a activation, specifically targeting ROR1 expressing tumors. This led to the development of cirmtuzumab that binds this critical epitope of ROR1, which is highly expressed on many different cancers but not on normal tissues. Preclinical data showed that when cirmtuzumab bound to ROR1, it blocked Wnt5a signaling, inhibited tumor cell proliferation, migration and survival, and induced differentiation of the tumor cells. Cirmtuzumab is in clinical development and has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any indication.

On December 9, 2019 SCYNEXIS, Inc. (NASDAQ : SCYX) reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock and warrants (Press release, Scynexis, DEC 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234552154]). In addition, SCYNEXIS expects to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of common stock and warrants being offered on the same terms and conditions. All of the shares of common stock and warrants in the offering will be sold by SCYNEXIS. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.

A shelf registration statement relating to the shares being sold in this offering was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2018, and was declared effective on September 14, 2018. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available for free on the SEC’s website located at View Source When available, electronic copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed public offering may be obtained by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (646) 975-6996, or by email to [email protected]. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.