On January 9, 2025 Repare Therapeutics Inc. ("Repare" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: RPTX), a leading clinical-stage precision oncology company, reported a re-alignment of resources and a re-prioritization of its clinical portfolio to focus on the continued advancement of its Phase 1 clinical programs, RP-1664 (PLK4 inhibitor) and RP-3467 (Polθ ATPase inhibitor) (Press release, Repare Therapeutics, JAN 9, 2025, View Source [SID1234649557]). Repare also announced its intention to seek partnering opportunities across its portfolio, including for lunresertib and camonsertib ("Lunre+Camo") prior to any start of pivotal development. The consequent savings of late-stage clinical funding combined with planned cost and headcount reductions are expected to extend Repare’s cash runway into mid-2027.

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"While Lunre+Camo demonstrated positive results from our Phase 1 clinical trial, after careful consideration we have decided to progress this program into pivotal trials contingent on securing a strategic partner to fund further development. We are focused on achieving near-term inflection points for our Phase 1 clinical assets, RP-1664 and RP-3467, both of which have the potential to address significant unmet patient needs and deliver important catalysts in 2025," said Lloyd M. Segal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Repare. "Combined with other initiatives, these changes, which we will implement later this quarter, provide the foundation for meaningful value creation."

Recent Pipeline Progress & Upcoming Milestones of Prioritized Clinical Programs:

RP-1664: First-in-class, highly selective, oral inhibitor of PLK4

Repare is evaluating RP-1664 as a monotherapy in the Phase 1 LIONS clinical trial in adult and adolescent patients with TRIM37-high solid tumors.

Upcoming Expected Milestones:

Q3 2025: Initiation of a Phase 1/2 expansion trial in pediatric neuroblastoma
Q4 2025: Initial topline safety, tolerability and early efficacy data from the LIONS trial
Mid-2026: Trial completion, final trial readout for proof-of-concept from the LIONS trial
RP-3467: Potential best-in-class Polθ ATPase inhibitor

Repare is dosing patients in the Phase 1 POLAR clinical trial evaluating RP-3467 alone and in combination with the poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, olaparib. This trial is enrolling patients with locally advanced or metastatic epithelial ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, or pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Upcoming Expected Milestones:

Q3 2025: Topline safety, tolerability and early efficacy data from the POLAR trial in monotherapy and in combination with olaparib.
Lunresertib and Camonsertib

Repare recently reported positive efficacy and safety data from the Phase 1 MYTHIC gynecologic expansion clinical trial evaluating the combination of lunresertib and camonsertib (Lunre+Camo) at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). Nearly half of patients with gynecologic cancers maintained progression-free survival (PFS) at 24 weeks, comparing favorably to PFS for current standard of care. Repare intends to seek partnering opportunities for this program as a condition to advancing the program into planned and regulatory-supported pivotal development.

Repare is currently evaluating lunresertib in combination with Debio 0123, a highly selective, brain-penetrant, clinical WEE1 inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors harboring CCNE1 amplification or FBXW7 or PPP2R1A deleterious alterations as part of an ongoing 50/50 cost sharing collaboration with Debiopharm.

The Company will not continue to develop lunresertib or camonsertib in other studies, including the ongoing camonsertib non-small cell lung cancer expansion study, absent securing a partnership with a development partner.

Upcoming Expected Milestone:

Q2 2025: Enrollment completion of MYTHIC trial evaluating lunresertib in combination with Debio 0123 (WEE1 inhibitor)
Cash Position and Financial Guidance:

Repare ended 2024 with approximately $153 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, which is anticipated with the implementation of the cost-saving measures announced above to fund the Company’s streamlined operations into mid-2027.

On January 9, 2025 FORE Biotherapeutics, a registration stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to developing targeted therapies to treat patients with cancer, reported its recent pipeline achievements and provided its key strategic objectives for 2025 (Press release, Fore Biotherapeutics, JAN 9, 2025, View Source [SID1234649541]).

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William Hinshaw, Chief Executive Officer of Fore Biotherapeutics, will detail progress and discuss anticipated milestones in a presentation at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The presentation will take place on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. PT in San Francisco, CA.

"2025 will be an exciting year at Fore, with multiple value-creating catalysts anticipated in the near-term across our trials. Our focus in 2025 will be continued execution of our differentiated monotherapy development of plixorafenib, which represents a multi-billion dollar opportunity, and the potential for expansion into developing plixorafenib as a combination agent. Plixorafenib’s unique mechanism of action supports the potential to reset the standard for patients with BRAF driven tumors, which have been underserved and underpenetrated due to the limitations of current agents. Plixorafenib is designed to inhibit not only the constitutively active BRAFV600 monomers targeted by first-generation RAF inhibitors, but also disrupt constitutively active dimeric BRAF class II mutants, fusions, splice variants and others, which differentiates it from current approved therapies. We are encouraged by the compelling safety and efficacy profile we have seen and the progress in our registrational trials," said William Hinshaw, Chief Executive Officer of Fore.

2024 Achievements

Strengthened Leadership Team: In 2024, Fore strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of William Hinshaw as Chief Executive Officer, Michael Byrnes as Chief Financial Officer and Payman Darouian, as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Strategy and Commercial. The new management team brings extensive experience from large pharmaceutical companies and multiple high-growth, publicly traded biotechnology companies adding to the strong existing capabilities of the team.
Continued Execution of FORTE Master Protocol: The FORTE Master Protocol is a global clinical trial which includes baskets evaluating plixorafenib in distinct patient populations. The three monotherapy indications currently under evaluation are BRAF V600 Recurrent Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors, Rare BRAF V600 Mutated Solid Tumors and Solid Tumors with BRAF Fusions.
Advanced Plixorafenib in BRAF V600 Recurrent Primary Central Nervous System Tumors: Continued enrollment in registration-intended basket in up to 50 patients with BRAF V600-mutated recurrent primary CNS tumors. This BOP2 design trial enrolls patients who are naïve to MAPK pathway inhibitor (MAPKi) treatment. Major efficacy endpoints include overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR). The study builds upon a previous clinical trial of plixorafenib in which six out of nine, or 67%, of MAPKi naïve adults with recurrent BRAF V600-mutated primary CNS tumors demonstrated a partial response (PR) with a median DOR (mDOR) of 13.9 months.
Advanced Plixorafenib in Rare BRAF V600 Mutated Solid Tumors: Initiated enrollment in registration-intended basket in up to 75 patients with rare BRAF V600-mutated solid tumors. This BOP2 design trial enrolls patients who are naïve to MAPKi treatment. Major efficacy endpoints include ORR and DOR. The study builds upon a previous clinical trial of plixorafenib in which 42% of MAPKi naïve adults with BRAF V600-mutated solid tumors demonstrated a PR with a mDOR of 17.8 months.
Advanced Plixorafenib in Solid Tumors with BRAF Fusions: Continued enrollment in registration-intended basket in up to 75 patients with BRAF fusion advanced solid tumors. This BOP2 design trial enrolls patients with tumors harboring BRAF fusions, excluding those with prior treatment with MAPK inhibitors as well as patients with colorectal or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The primary endpoint is ORR, as determined by RANO criteria or RECIST v1.1 for primary CNS tumors or other solid tumors, respectively. The study builds upon a previous clinical trial of plixorafenib that demonstrated promising single agent activity including one complete response with a DOR of 66.7+ months, one PR with a DOR of 9.2+ months, and seven stable disease, out of 14 adults evaluable for efficacy.
Reported Supportive Nonclinical Data at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2024: Fore reported nonclinical data at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2024 demonstrating that plixorafenib in combination with binimetinib, a MEK inhibitor, is more potent than other BRAF and pan-RAF inhibitors combined with binimetinib, as well as the synergistic activity of plixorafenib with MEK inhibition across all BRAF alterations tested.
Reported Supportive Safety and Efficacy Data at International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO 2024): Fore reported safety and efficacy data at ISPNO 2024 building on the existing evidence of plixorafenib in children and adults with BRAF-altered recurrent primary CNS tumors.
Reported Supportive Safety and Efficacy Data in Ovarian Cancer at 15th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium (OCRS): Fore reported safety and efficacy data at OCRS 2024, including durable partial responses in three out of three patients with BRAF V600-mutated ovarian cancer, who were all heavily pre-treated.
2025 Strategic Objectives and Anticipated Milestones

Continued Execution of the FORTE Master Protocol with Interim Analyses in Three Monotherapy Indications Anticipated in 2025
BRAF V600 Primary Recurrent Central Nervous System Tumors: An interim efficacy analysis from the first 25 evaluable patients is anticipated to be conducted in the third quarter of 2025. Pending a positive recommendation from the data monitoring committee, topline data from this trial would be anticipated in the second half of 2026. The company anticipates that this trial, with sufficient demonstration of safety and efficacy, would enable the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Accelerated Approval pathway.
Rare BRAF V600 Mutated Solid Tumors: An interim efficacy analysis from the first 25 evaluable patients is anticipated to be conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Advanced Solid Tumors with BRAF Fusions: An interim efficacy analysis from the first 25 evaluable patients is anticipated to be conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025.

On January 9, 2025 TheRas, Inc. d/b/a BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics ("BBOT" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on RAS-pathway malignancies, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to BBO-8520, an investigational oral therapy for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated, KRASG12C-mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Press release, BridgeBio, JAN 9, 2025, View Source [SID1234649558]).

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BBO-8520 is designed to inhibit the "ON and OFF" state to provide optimal target coverage and to address KRASG12C amplification and receptor tyrosine kinase activation – the two key mechanisms of adaptive resistance to current "OFF" state inhibitors. It drives substantial tumor growth inhibition in multiple preclinical models, even after emergence of resistance to sotorasib, an FDA approved "OFF" state inhibitor of KRASG12C.i The discovery of BBO-8520 was the result of a collaboration between the National Cancer Institute RAS Initiative at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and BBOT.

"Receiving Fast Track designation for BBO-8520 is a significant milestone in our efforts to overcome the limitations of existing therapies for KRASG12C-mutant cancers," said Yong Ben, MD, Chief Medical and Development Officer of BBOT. "BBO-8520 represents a first-in-class approach with potential to address high unmet medical needs and shift the paradigm for cancer treatment. We will continue to work closely with the FDA to expedite the development of BBO-8520, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study (NCT06343402) of KRASG12C NSCLC patients pre-treated with first generation KRASG12C "OFF" inhibitors or with no prior KRASG12C targeted therapy experience."

Fast Track designation is intended to help rapidly advance the development and review process for promising therapeutic candidates for serious conditions that may fill an unmet medical need.

On January 9, 2025 Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYEL), a clinical-stage company advancing a pipeline of next-generation CAR T-cell therapies for patients with cancer, reported pipeline updates, including its plans to advance IMPT-314, a potentially best-in-class therapy for aggressive large B-cell lymphoma, into pivotal trials (Press release, Lyell Immunopharma, JAN 9, 2025, View Source [SID1234649542]). IMPT-314 is an autologous dual-targeting CD19/CD20 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product candidate designed to increase complete response rates and prolong the duration of the responses as compared to the approved CD19‑targeted CAR therapies for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma.

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"Based on the positive initial clinical data reported at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) and the promising emerging clinical profile, we are accelerating the development of IMPT-314 as a potentially transformative product with differentiated benefit in overall and complete response rates as well as duration of response over first-generation CD19 CAR therapies in patients with aggressive large B-cell lymphoma," said Lynn Seely, M.D., Lyell’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "Having presented an initial dataset that demonstrated an overall response rate of 94% and a complete response rate of 71% in patients treated in the 3rd-line+ setting, we are focusing our resources on advancing IMPT-314 for patients with large B-cell lymphoma in both the 2nd and 3rd line+ settings. To ensure a sustainable cost structure that delivers multiple clinical readouts with our current balance sheet, we have streamlined and focused our pipeline and organization to prioritize investment in IMPT-314 and early-stage research programs for solid tumors."

Pipeline Focus

Lyell is focused on advancing next-generation CAR T cell therapies with the potential to deliver higher response rates and longer duration of responses for patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Lyell is developing products enhanced with its novel technologies and manufacturing protocols.

In hematologic malignancies, Lyell is focused on advancing products designed to deliver improved outcomes over first-generation CD19 CAR T cell therapies. Lyell’s lead program, IMPT-314, is a dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T-cell product candidate designed to increase complete response rates and prolong the duration of the responses as compared to the currently approved CD19‑targeted CAR therapies for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma. IMPT-314 is designed with a true ‘OR’ logic gate to target B-cells that express either CD19, CD20 or both and is manufactured through a process that enriches for CD62L-expressing cells to generate more naïve central memory CAR T cells with enhanced stemlike features and antitumor activity.

To realize the potential of cell therapy for solid tumors, Lyell is also developing next-generation CAR T-cell product candidates enhanced with anti-exhaustion and additional arming technologies, and manufactured with proprietary protocols. These approaches are designed to endow CAR T cells with attributes needed to drive durable tumor cytotoxicity and achieve consistent and long-lasting clinical responses – the ability to resist exhaustion, maintain qualities of durable stemness and function in the hostile tumor microenvironment.

Upcoming Milestones and Financial Outlook

For IMPT-314, a next-generation dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T-cell product candidate for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma:

Present data from the ongoing Phase 1-2 trial in mid-2025, including more mature data from the 3rd line+ cohort and initial data from the 2nd line cohort
Present more mature clinical data from the 2nd line cohort in late 2025
Initiate a pivotal trial in the 3rd line+ setting in mid-2025
Initiate a pivotal trial in the 2nd line setting by early 2026
For early-stage solid tumor programs:

Submit first IND application for a new solid tumor CAR T-cell product candidate in 2026
To accelerate the pivotal trials of IMPT-314 and focus resources on next-generation solid tumor CAR T-cell programs in preclinical development, Lyell has streamlined its operations and is discontinuing development of LYL119, its ROR1-targeting CAR T cell product candidate, and IMPT-514, an autoimmune disease program previously initiated by ImmPACT Bio that was acquired by Lyell in connection with its acquisition of ImmPACT Bio.

Lyell expects net cash use in 2025 to be $175 million – $185 million, which extends its cash runway further into 2027 through multiple clinical milestones.

J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

Members of Lyell’s senior management team will present and participate in the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 15th at 9:00 am PT.

A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed through the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.lyell.com. Following the live presentation, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website.

About IMPT-314

IMPT-314 is a next-generation dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T-cell product candidate designed to increase complete response rates and prolong the duration of the responses as compared to the approved CD19‑targeted CAR therapies for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma.

IMPT-314 is designed with a true ‘OR’ logic gate to target, with high potency, B cells that express either CD19, CD20 or both. IMPT-314 is manufactured to produce a CAR T-cell product with higher proportions of naïve and central memory T cells through a process that enriches for CD62L-expressing cells. This manufacturing process is designed to generate more naïve central memory CAR T cells with enhanced stemlike features and antitumor activity.

IMPT-314 has received Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma.

Initial data from 23 patients with relapsed or refractory, CAR T-naive large B-cell lymphoma who received IMPT-314 were reported at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. The efficacy evaluable population consisted of 17 patients. The overall response rate was 94% (16/17 patients), with 71% (12/17 patients) achieving a complete response by three months. The median follow up was 6.3 months (range 1.2 – 12.5 months) and 71% of patients were in response at last follow-up. In the safety evaluable population of 23 patients, no Grade 3+ CRS was reported. Grade 3 ICANS was reported in 13% (3/23) of patients with a median time to complete ICANS resolution of 5 days, and rapid improvement to Grade 2 or lower with standard therapy.

On January 9, 2025 TriSalus Life Sciences, Inc. ("TriSalus" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TLSI), TriSalus Life Sciences seeks to transform outcomes for patients with solid tumors by integrating our innovative delivery technology with standard-of-care therapies and our investigational immunotherapy, reported the publication of research titled, "Pressure Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD) Significantly Increases Intraarterial Delivery of Embolic Microspheres to Liver Tumors in a Porcine Model," in the peer-reviewed Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (Press release, TriSalus Life Sciences, JAN 9, 2025, View Source [SID1234649559]). The study, conducted in a transgenic tumor model, highlights the superior performance of the TriNav Infusion System in delivering Embospheres into liver tumors when compared to delivery with a traditional microcatheter.

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Key Findings:

Improved Tumor Penetration: PEDD achieved a 227 % increase (p=0.029) in the concentration of fluorescently labeled Embospheres within tumor tissue compared to a traditional microcatheter.
Improved Tumor Selectivity: The tumor-to-normal (T:N) ratio rose from 2.7 for a traditional microcatheter to 4.2 when delivered by PEDD, indicating more precise tumor targeting and reduced off-target delivery.
Increased Peritumoral Delivery: Delivery to peritumoral regions increased by 209% (p=0.045), demonstrating PEDD’s ability to overcome challenging tumor associated microenvironments.
"This study further validates the potential of TriNav using the PEDD approach to transform the treatment of liver tumors," said Bryan F. Cox, Ph.D., Chief of Research for TriSalus. "By significantly enhancing therapeutic delivery and sparing healthy tissue, PEDD offers a promising advancement for patients whose outcomes may be limited by conventional delivery methods."

The study was conducted using a transgenic porcine (Oncopig) liver tumor model, employing fluorescent imaging and advanced deep-learning algorithms to quantify therapeutic delivery with millimeter-scale resolution. Results showed the TriNav Infusion System using the PEDD approach markedly outperforms traditional microcatheters in delivering embolic microspheres into liver tumors.

These findings add to the growing body of clinical and real-world evidence supporting PEDD’s ability to improve the delivery of therapeutic agents for patients with primary and metastatic liver cancers.