On October 22, 2019 Trovagene, Inc. (Nasdaq: TROV), a clinical-stage, Precision Cancer Medicine oncology therapeutics company developing drugs that target cell division (mitosis) for the treatment of various cancers including prostate, colorectal and leukemia, reported data demonstrating positive response to treatment in patients enrolled in its Phase 1b/2 trial of onvansertib in combination with FOLFIRI and Avastin (bevacizumab) for second-line treatment of KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) (Press release, Trovagene, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542425]). Decreases in tumor KRAS mutational burden in response to treatment was observed in all four patients who completed their first cycle of therapy with the combination regimen, as measured by quantitative analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. Despite significant progress in the treatment of mCRC, the majority of patients succumb to the disease. Therefore, improving the effectiveness of treatments is critical to changing the outcomes for this patient population. Approximately 50% of mCRC patients have the KRAS mutation. The efficacy of current second-line therapy in terms of survival prolongation and response remains very limited, especially in this population, where there is only a 5% response rate.

"We are pleased by the early indication of response to treatment with the addition of onvansertib to standard-of care in patients with KRAS-mutated mCRC," said Dr. Thomas Adams, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Trovagene. "We believe the combination of onvansertib and FOLFIRI/bevacizumab has the potential to provide a much-needed safe and effective new treatment option for the approximately 50% of patients with KRAS-mutated mCRC."

"Although still early in the trial, we are encouraged by the decreases in KRAS, assessed following initial dosing with onvansertib in combination with FOLFIRI/ bevacizumab, in patients treated in the first cohort," said lead investigator Dr. Afsaneh Barzi, associate professor of clinical medicine at Keck School of Medicine of USC and medical oncologist at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Additionally, these patients have continued on treatment beyond the cycle 1 safety assessment, indicating that the regimen appears to be safe and well tolerated. These initial findings suggest that onvansertib may provide clinical benefit for mCRC patients who have limited therapeutic options and a poor prognosis."

An overview of the mCRC Phase 1b/2 clinical trial (NCT03829410) was also featured in a poster presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Annual Congress in September 2019. The presentation included the supportive preclinical data, demonstrating synergy with the combination of onvansertib and irinotecan, a key component of the FOLFIRI regimen.

About the Phase 1b/2 Clinical Trial of Onvansertib in mCRC

The trial, A Phase 1b/2 Study of Onvansertib (PCM-075) in Combination with FOLFIRI and Bevacizumab for Second‑Line Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Patients with a KRAS Mutation (NCT03829410), will evaluate the safety and efficacy of onvansertib in combination with standard-of-care FOLFIRI and Avastin (bevacizumab). Up to 44 patients, with a confirmed KRAS mutation, metastatic and unresectable disease, who have failed or are intolerant of treatment with FOLFOX (fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin) with or without Avastin (bevacizumab), will be enrolled. The trial is being conducted at two prestigious cancer centers: USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and The Mayo Clinic Arizona.

About Onvansertib

Onvansertib is a first-in-class, third-generation, oral and highly-selective adenosine triphosphate (ATP) competitive inhibitor of the serine/threonine polo-like-kinase 1 (PLK1) enzyme, which is over-expressed in multiple cancers including leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumors. Onvansertib targets the PLK1 isoform only (not PLK2 or PLK3), is orally administered and has a 24-hour half-life with only mild-to-moderate side effects reported. Trovagene believes that targeting only PLK1 and having a favorable safety and tolerability profile, along with an improved dose/scheduling regimen will significantly improve on the outcome observed in previous studies with a former panPLK inhibitor in AML.

Onvansertib has demonstrated synergy in preclinical studies with numerous chemotherapies and targeted therapeutics used to treat leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumor cancers, including irinotecan, FLT3 and HDAC inhibitors, taxanes and cytotoxins. Trovagene believes the combination of onvansertib with other compounds has the potential to improve clinical efficacy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), colorectal cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), as well as other types of cancer.

Trovagene has three ongoing clinical trials of onvansertib: A Phase 2 trial of onvansertib in combination with Zytiga (abiraterone acetate)/prednisone in patients with mCRPC who are showing signs of early progressive disease (rise in PSA but minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic) while currently receiving Zytiga (NCT03414034); a Phase 1b/2 Study of onvansertib in combination with FOLFIRI and Avastin for second-line treatment in patients with mCRC with a KRAS mutation (NCT03829410); and a Phase 2 clinical trial of onvansertib in combination with decitabine in patients with relapsed or refractory AML (NCT03303339).

Trovagene licensed onvansertib (also known as NMS-1286937 and PCM-075) from Nerviano Medical Sciences (NMS), the largest oncology-focused research and development company in Italy, and a leader in protein kinase drug development. NMS has an excellent track record of licensing innovative drugs to pharma/biotech companies, including Array (recently acquired by Pfizer), Ignyta (acquired by Roche) and Genentech.

On October 22, 2019 Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), currently developing pelareorep, an intravenously delivered immuno-oncolytic virus, and PrECOG LLC, a leading cancer research network, reported their collaboration in which PrECOG will run the BRACELET-1 (PrE0113) study (Press release, Oncolytics Biotech, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542410]). The principal investigator will be Kathy Miller, MD, Ballve-Lantero Professor of Oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Research at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and PrECOG member. The study will take place in 15 centers in the United States and will evaluate the ability of pelareorep to make tumors immunologically visible to checkpoint inhibitors.

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"We’re very excited to be working with PrECOG on the BRACELET-1 study focused on hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients, our target patient population," said Rita Laeufle, Chief Medical Officer at Oncolytics Biotech. "Our goal in this study is to confirm our biomarker of T cell clonality in order to predictively and prognostically select patients for the phase three study, as well as to demonstrate that pelareorep sensitizes the tumor to immunotherapy and improves clinical outcomes. By creating an immunogenic tumor environment with pelareorep, we can potentially increase the efficacy of checkpoint blockade and treat more patients with this novel treatment combination. This important study, along with our ongoing AWARE-1 trial, will help determine the design of the phase three registrational program for pelareorep in metastatic breast cancer, which we expect may involve combination therapy with a checkpoint inhibitor."

"We in PrECOG are excited to be investigating this novel approach to breast cancer treatment, and to bring cutting edge options to our patients," said Peter O’ Dwyer, MD, Chief Executive Officer, PrECOG, and Co-Chair, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group. "Approaches to increase the activity of these immunologically active agents are a focus of our research and studies like this have the potential to be relevant to these mechanisms across many tumor types."

PrECOG has multiple trials in the immuno-oncology space. "Immunotherapy remains in its infancy in the treatment of breast cancer. The potential for pelareorep to extend the benefits of immunotherapy to patients with hormone-sensitive disease could be a real advantage for patients," said Dr. Miller.

The BRACELET-1 (PrE0113) study seeks to replicate a previous trial that supported an advantage in overall survival through the use of pelareorep in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) metastatic breast cancer. It is being designed as a phase 2, three-arm, 48-patient open-label study for second-line treatment in these patients. The first arm will be paclitaxel alone, the second arm will be paclitaxel plus pelareorep, and the third arm will be paclitaxel plus pelareorep, plus the PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor, avelumab.

The design is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks with input from Oncolytics’ co-development partners Pfizer and Merck KGaA. It will then go to the FDA for review. The study is anticipated to begin enrollment in Q1 2020.

About Pelareorep
Pelareorep is a non-pathogenic, proprietary isolate of the unmodified reovirus: a first-in-class intravenously delivered immuno-oncolytic virus for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The compound induces selective tumor lysis and promotes an inflamed tumor phenotype through innate and adaptive immune responses to treat a variety of cancers and has been demonstrated to be able to escape neutralizing antibodies found in patients.

About PrECOG
PrECOG, LLC is a cancer research group formed as a not-for-profit limited liability company in 2006 by the ECOG Research and Education Foundation, Inc. A central focus of PrECOG is to support the overall purpose of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group. Its goal is to achieve research advances in all aspects of cancer care, reduce the burden of cancer, and improve the quality of life and survival in patients with cancer. PrECOG’s current portfolio includes exploratory phase 1 and 2 studies as well as phase 3 registration studies conducted in the US and the EU. For further information, please visit www.precogllc.org and www.ecog-acrin.org.

On October 22, 2019 GT Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB: GTBP) (GTBP.PA) an immuno-oncology company focused on innovative treatments based on the Company’s proprietary NK cell engager (TriKE) platform, reported that Drs. Jeffrey Miller, Martin Felices and Pippa Kennedy from the University of Minnesota presented research results at the recently concluded 18th meeting of the Society for Natural Immunity concerning a solid tumor targeting TriKE which demonstrates killing of non-small cell lung cancer tumor cells (Press release, GT Biopharma, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542426]).

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According to the American Cancer Society, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for 84% of all lung cancer diagnoses. In 2019, it is estimated there will be 228,150 cases of newly diagnosed lung cancer. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer, and this year it is estimated that 142,670 people will die from lung cancer. The 5-year survival rate for all people with all types of lung cancer is 19%.

Mr. Anthony Cataldo, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GT Biopharma commented "we are excited about the progress Dr. Miller and his colleagues are making developing a TriKE which targets solid tumors." Mr. Cataldo further stated "we believe the NSCLC TriKE has the potential to offer lung cancer patients with a treatment option that achieves targeted killing of metastatic lung cancer cells in all locations within the body, and hopefully will become part of a scalable and curative therapeutic strategy for lung cancer patients."

About GTB-3550 TriKE and GTB-3550 TriKE Phase I/II Clinical Trial

GTB-3550 is the Company’s first TriKE product candidate which is a single-chain, tri-specific recombinant fusion protein construct composed of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of anti-CD16 and anti-CD33 antibodies and a modified form of IL-15. The GTB-3550 Phase I/II clinical trial for treatment of patients with CD33-expressing, high risk myelodysplastic syndromes, refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia or advanced systemic mastocytosis opened for patient enrollment September 2019. The clinical trial is being conducted at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota under the direction of Dr. Erica Warlick.

On October 22, 2019 OPKO Health, Inc. ("OPKO Health" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:OPK) reported that, subject to market and other conditions, it intends to offer and sell up to $100 million of shares of its common stock (the "Shares") in an underwritten public offering (Press release, Opko Health, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542443]). The Company intends to grant the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of Shares to be issued and sold in the offering.

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The Company intends to use the net proceeds received from the offering of the Shares to fund research and development to further develop and commercialize its portfolio of proprietary pharmaceutical and diagnostic products and for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes.

Jefferies LLC, Piper Jaffray & Co. and Guggenheim Securities, LLC will act as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering of the Shares will be made by means of a prospectus supplement to the prospectus forming a part of the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-229400) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on January 28, 2019 and other related documents. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement may be obtained from Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10022, by email at [email protected] or by phone at +1 877 821 7388; Piper Jaffray & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN 55402, by email at [email protected] or by phone: 1-800-747-3924; and Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017, by email at [email protected] or by phone at +1 212 518 5548. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus along with other documents that the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and these offerings.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the Shares or any other securities, nor will there be any sale of the Shares or any other securities in any state or other 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 other jurisdiction.

On October 22, 2019 Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (Trillium, ‘the company") (NASDAQ/TSX: TRIL), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported corporate restructuring to extend the company’s cash runway and to focus on critical value-creating activities (Press release, Trillium Therapeutics, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542411]). The company also provided an update on its clinical development and research programs.

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"Since assuming the CEO role a month ago, my immediate focus has been on conducting an in-depth review of our strategic priorities and ongoing programs, as well as our available resources", said Jan Skvarka, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. "Building on our strong scientific foundation, the goal of this restructuring is to create a leaner, more clinical development-centric organization and extend our cash runway. The near-term focus will be on the clinical development of intravenously administered TTI-621, our anti-CD47 product candidate that has shown promising preliminary evidence of activity in a number of hematologic malignancies. Unfortunately the restructuring will impact many highly talented and dedicated employees. Trillium would not exist without their contributions, for which we will always be deeply grateful."

Corporate Restructuring

Under the restructuring program, staff will be reduced by 40%, from 43 to 26 active employees, with immediate effect. The company will discontinue its discovery research activities to focus on clinical development and seek a partner for further development of its preclinical STING agonist program. Further cost savings will be achieved through operational efficiencies.

These savings are expected to reduce cash outlay from approximately CDN$10 million per quarter in the first half of 2019 to approximately CDN$4-7 million per quarter in 2020. The company currently expects to have cash and cash equivalents of approximately CDN$36 million at the end of the third quarter of 2019.

CD47 Program Update

The ongoing dose escalation trial of intravenously administered TTI-621 is on track and remains the key strategic priority going forward. The 0.7 mg/kg dose cohort in this study has been completed and no dose-limiting toxicities have been identified. Enrollment in the 1.0 mg/kg cohort is beginning. The goal of this trial is to identify a recommended phase 2 dose to enable additional studies in both cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and other hematologic malignancy indications with high unmet medical need.

In September, the company met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which provided guidance on the intratumoral use of TTI-621 for the treatment of early-stage CTCL, including aspects of a potential registration study. The company is evaluating this guidance and considering options going forward, given current resource constraints. The ongoing phase 1b intratumoral trial, which provided the data set for the FDA interaction and informed the guidance, will now be closed.