On December 6, 2016 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTX), a Phase 3 clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer and Cellworks, a customized therapy design company that improves clinical outcomes and creates value for pharma, payers and physicians, reported the presentation of their collaborative effort to identify higher-risk MDS (HR-MDS) patients that are likely to respond to rigosertib at the 2016 ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in San Diego California, taking place December 3-6, 2016 (Press release, Onconova, DEC 6, 2016, View Source [SID1234516960]).

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The presentation by Dr. Guillermo Garcia-Manero from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, lead investigator from the ONTME trial, used Cellworks’ proprietary bio-simulation platform to retrospectively correlate clinical benefit to IV rigosertib treatment in the Phase 3 ONTIME study in HR-MDS patients with molecular and cytogenetic data. This computer simulation led to the characterization of certain biological pathways that predict response to IV rigosertib in HR-MDS patients. Notably, patients with these predictive biological pathways also shared common cytogenetic abnormalities — trisomy of chromosomes 8 and 21 — that correlated with positive clinical outcome in ONTIME.

"This retrospective analysis of ONTIME has helped identify biological factors related to clinical outcomes to treatment with IV rigosertib," stated Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, Chief of the Section of Myelodysplastic Syndromes at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and lead author of the study. "These results confirm prior studies where patients with certain cytogenetic abnormalities were sensitive to IV rigosertib. These data also reinforce the clinical strategy of the ongoing Phase 3 INSPIRE trial to target only the highest-risk MDS patients with rigosertib."

"We are excited by this use of our proprietary bio-simulation platform to predict response to novel therapeutics in a heterogeneous disease like HR-MDS," commented Yatin Mundkur, CEO of Cellworks. "Among other applications, the Cellworks platform is intended to inform the design of Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by establishing and validating inclusion criteria. In this case, we are pleased that this analysis has validated enrollment criteria for Onconova’s Phase 3 INSPIRE trial."

The poster entitled "Computational Analysis of Genomic Abnormalities from a Phase 3 Trial of Rigosertib in Higher-Risk MDS: Simulation of a Predictive Signature for Clinical Response," was presented on December 5, 2016 at the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. A copy of the poster is available by visiting the Scientific Presentations section under the Investors & Media tab of Onconova’s website.

About Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.

Onconova Therapeutics is a Phase 3 clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer. Onconova’s clinical and pre-clinical stage drug development candidates are derived from its extensive chemical library and are designed to work against specific cellular pathways that are important in cancer cells, while causing minimal damage to normal cells. The Company’s most advanced product candidate, rigosertib, is a small molecule inhibitor of cellular signaling and acts as a RAS mimetic. These effects of rigosertib appear to be mediated by direct binding of the compound to the RAS-binding domain (RBD) found in many RAS effector proteins, including the Raf and PI3 kinases. Rigosertib is protected by issued patents (earliest expiry in 2026) and has been awarded Orphan Designation for MDS in the United States, Europe and Japan. In addition to rigosertib, two other candidates are in the clinical stage, and several candidates are in pre-clinical stages. For more information, please visit View Source

About IV Rigosertib

The intravenous form of rigosertib has been employed in Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trial involving more than 800 patients, and is currently being evaluated in the randomized Phase 3 global INSPIRE trial as 2nd-line treatment for patients with higher-risk MDS, after failure of hypomethylating agent, or HMA, therapy. This formulation is suited for patients with advanced disease and provides long duration of exposure and ensures adequate dosing under a controlled setting.

About INSPIRE

The INternational Study of Phase III IV RigosErtib, or INSPIRE, is based on guidance received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency and derives from the findings of the ONTIME Phase 3 trial. INSPIRE is a multi-center, randomized controlled study to assess the efficacy and safety of IV rigosertib in HR-MDS patients who had progressed on, failed to respond to, or relapsed after previous treatment with an HMA within the first nine months of initiation of HMA treatment. This time frame optimizes the opportunity to respond to treatment with an HMA prior to declaring treatment failure, as per NCCN Guidelines. The trial will enroll approximately 225 patients randomized at a 2:1 ratio into two treatment arms: IV rigosertib plus Best Supportive Care versus Physician’s Choice plus Best Supportive Care. The primary endpoint of INSPIRE is overall survival and an interim analysis is anticipated. Full details of the INSPIRE trial, such as inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as secondary endpoints, can be found on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02562443).

On December 6, 2016 Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, reported an update of key data from studies of its investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates, presented at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in San Diego, December 3-6, 2016 (Press release, Juno, DEC 6, 2016, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2228009 [SID1234516977]).

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"We are encouraged by the safety and efficacy results we are seeing with JCAR017 and JCAR014 in several B-cell malignancy settings, including in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and the possibilities suggested by early data in treating patients with CD19-negative disease," said Hans Bishop, Juno’s President and CEO. "We are also learning more about factors that contribute to efficacy and managing the toxicities associated with CAR T therapy and will apply what we learn to our broader development pipeline."

Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): JCAR017
Final results from the Phase I Pediatric Leukemia Adoptive Therapy-02 (PLAT-02) study with JCAR017 in children and young adults with relapsed or refractory (r/r) CD19-positive ALL were presented in an oral session by Rebecca Gardner, M.D., of Seattle Children’s Research Institute (Abstract #219), on Saturday, December 4. JCAR017 uses a defined CD4:CD8 cell composition and 4-1BB as the costimulatory domain, which differentiates it from other CD19-directed CAR T product candidates in clinical development.

The presentation updated data previously presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in June 2016. It included 43 pediatric and young adult patients treated with JCAR017 who were evaluable for response.

Key results:
40/43 (93%) patients experienced a minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative complete remission (CR).
In patients who received preconditioning with fludarabine/cyclophosphamide (flu/cy) lymphodepletion, the overall response (OR) rate was 14/14 (100%) patients. The estimated 12-month event-free survival is 50.8% (95%CI 36.9, 69.9) and overall survival (OS) is 69.5% (95%CI 55.8, 86.5).
Severe cytokine release syndrome (sCRS) was observed in 10/43 (23%) patients.
A second study presented by Dr. Gardner examined toxicity management in the PLAT-02 trial (Abstract #586). In the study, two cohorts were given either anti-IL6 (tocilizumab) alone or the combination of tocilizumab and the steroid dexamethasone, with the goal of preventing sCRS. Results showed:
Both cohorts experienced similar overall rates of Grade 1-2 CRS following treatment: 21/23 (91%) in cohort 1 and 19/20 (95%) on in the early intervention cohort. In the tocilizumab arm, 7 of 23 (30%) patients experienced sCRS, versus 3/20 (15%) in the tocilizumab / dexamethasone arm.
Early intervention with immunomodulation appeared to decrease the rates of sCRS, while preserving the previously observed high rates of MRD-negative CR.
Long-term persistence of CD19 CAR-T cells is protective against relapse.
Pediatric ALL: JCAR018
Nirali N. Shah, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute, presented data from a Phase I study of JCAR018, a CAR T cell product candidate targeting CD22, in 16 pediatric patients with r/r CD19-negative ALL (Abstract #650) on Monday, December 5. The study is the first to evaluate CAR T cell therapy in patients expressing CD22. All of the patients had been previously treated with anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy and had previously undergone at least one allogeneic stem cell transplant.
Key results:
The primary adverse event was grade 1-2 cytokine release syndrome, with no severe or irreversible neurotoxicity. There was one death due to sepsis in a patient after resolution of CRS.
3/9 (33%) patients are in ongoing remission ranging 3-12+ months.
Results showed 7/8 (88%) patients achieved an MRD-negative CR with flu/cy lymphodepletion followed by JCAR018 at dose level 2 (1 x 106 transduced CAR T cells/kg).
The study continues to enroll patients. Juno is currently testing pre-clinical constructs to better understand the optimal way to target these two antigens in the same product.
Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL): JCAR017
In a poster presentation on Monday, December 5, Jeremy Abramson, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, presented results from the Phase I TRANSCEND study in patients with r/r DLBCL, follicular lymphoma grade 3B or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who were treated with flu/cy lymphodepletion and JCAR017.
Topline results included a 12/20 (60%) complete response in patients with r/r DLBCL (N=19) and follicular lymphoma grade 3B (N=1) treated with a single dose of JCAR017 at dose level 1 (5×107 cells). No sCRS was observed; grade 3-4 neurotoxicity was observed in 3/22 (14%) patients, all of whom received the steroid dexamethasone for neurotoxicity. In addition, the side effect profile plus cell persistence suggests the potential for combination therapy.
The Phase I TRANSCEND trial continues, enrolling more patients at dose levels 1 and 2. Juno intends to initiate a pivotal trial in the U.S. in patients with r/r DLBCL in 2017.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): JCAR014
In an oral presentation on Saturday, December 4, Cameron Turtle, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, reported on results from a Phase I study of heavily pre-treated patients with CLL who failed treatment with ibrutinib, the standard-of-care treatment for CLL. Fifteen of 17 (88%) efficacy-evaluable patients who had bone marrow disease at the start of the trial and treated with flu/cy and the two lowest doses of JCAR014 had a complete marrow response by flow cytometry. Fourteen of the complete bone marrow response patients had a response assessment by the more sensitive method of IgH deep sequencing, with 7/14 (50%) having no detectable disease. All seven of these patients are alive and progression free with follow-up ranging from 3 to 26 months.
Two of 24 (8%) patients developed grade 3-5 sCRS and 6/24 (25%) patients developed grade 3-5 severe neurotoxicity. There was one treatment-related mortality (4%) in the trial in a patient who received flu/cy lymphodepletion, with both grade 5 CRS and cerebral edema.
Plans to study JCAR014 in combination with ibrutinib in CLL are underway, with a cohort expected to begin enrollment in early 2017. Juno is evaluating the use of this data with JCAR014 as a monotherapy and in combination with ibrutinib in support of a potential Juno-sponsored trial with JCAR017 in CLL.

On December 6, 2016 Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE: PBYI), a biopharmaceutical company, reported the initiation of a Managed Access Program for PB272 (neratinib) (Press release, Puma Biotechnology, DEC 6, 2016, View Source [SID1234516961]). Managed access programs provide physicians and patients access to medicines when there are limited or no other therapeutic options available.

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Puma’s Managed Access Program for neratinib will enable participation from countries outside the United States, including European Union Member States, where permitted by applicable rules, procedures and regulatory authorities. The program will provide access to neratinib for the treatment of early stage HER2-positive breast cancer (extended adjuvant setting), HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and HER2-mutated solid tumors. Patients must not be able to participate in any ongoing neratinib clinical trial to qualify for Puma’s managed access program. Patients in the managed access program will be given neratinib and will be instructed to take a prophylaxis during treatment to manage neratinib-related diarrhea, which the Company expects will consist of high dose loperamide and budesonide.

Puma Biotechnology has partnered with Caligor Opco LLC, which specializes in early access to medicines, to implement and oversee the Managed Access Program for neratinib.

"The guiding principle behind our Managed Access Program is to provide neratinib — through physician-requested access — to patients with significant unmet medical needs as soon as practical, in a manner that is safe, ethical, compliant and effective," said Alan H. Auerbach, Chief Executive Officer and President of Puma. "With Caligor managing the day-to-day operations of the program, we can direct our efforts toward our regulatory filings and implementing our plans for commercialization."

Questions or inquiries regarding the Neratinib Managed Access Program should be directed to [email protected].

About Caligor

Caligor Opco LLC, a portfolio company of Diversis Capital, LLC, is a global company that manages the regulatory, logistics and supply chain needs for global access programs as well as the sourcing, storing and distribution of comparator drugs for clinical trials. Caligor’s global access programs help to meet the medical needs of patients worldwide by providing access to unlicensed / unapproved medicines in situations where the drug has not yet been approved, or is otherwise commercially unavailable. In addition, through its proprietary TrialAssist program, Caligor optimizes its services by providing for labeling, QP certification, storage, distribution and destruction of clinical trial and unlicensed medicines managed in the access programs. The Company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from facilities in Secaucus, New Jersey, and Dartford, UK, as well as strategically situated depot locations worldwide. More information is available at View Source

On December 5, 2016 Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., (NASDAQ: BPTH), a biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary DNAbilize liposomal delivery and antisense technology to develop a portfolio of targeted nucleic acid cancer drugs, reported that a review of BP1001 data as a treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) was presented in a poster at the 58th Annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place from December 3-6, 2016 in San Diego, CA (Filing, 8-K, Bio-Path Holdings, DEC 6, 2016, View Source [SID1234516978]).

Ana Tari Ashizawa, Ph.D., Bio-Path’s director of research, presented the poster titled "BP1001, a Novel Therapeutic for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia." The results demonstrated that BP1001 decreased the proliferation of Gleevec (imatinib)-resistant CML cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, BP1001 pretreatment enhanced the inhibitory effects of Sprycel (dasatinib) in CML cells, leading to cell death. Five CML blast phase patients were enrolled in the first cohort (5 mg/m2 BP1001) of the Phase 1 BP1001 clinical study. Two CML patients, who had T315I mutation, showed significant reductions in circulating blasts during treatment. One patient’s blasts were reduced from 89% to 12%, while another patient’s blasts were reduced from 24% to 7%.

"These patient data, supported by previous in vivo and in vitro results, suggest that BP1001 has the potential to treat the 33% of CML patients who are resistant to Gleevec, the current standard of care. Sprycel is a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is often used for Gleevec resistant patients. We are pleased that our preclinical results showed that BP1001 can enhance Sprycel activity in CML cells. These positive data give us confidence that BP1001 could play a valuable role in treating this patient population and encourage us to move forward with the initiation of our safety segment of the Phase 2 trial in patients with CML," said Peter Nielsen, chief executive officer of Bio-Path Holdings.

About BP1001

BP1001 (Liposomal Grb2 antisense) is Bio-Path’s lead product candidate, a neutral-charge, liposome-incorporated antisense drug designed to inhibit protein synthesis of Grb2 (growth factor receptor bound protein 2). Grb2 plays an essential role in cancer cell activation via the RAS pathway. Grb2 is an adapter protein that bridges signals between activated and mutated tyrosine kinases, such as Flt3, c-Kit, and Bcr-Abl, and the Ras pathway, leading to activation of the ERK and AKT proteins. Inhibition of Grb2 by BP1001 represents a significant advance in treating cancers with activated tyrosine kinases using a target not druggable with antibodies or kinase inhibitors. Inhibition of Grb2 has been demonstrated to halt cell proliferation and enhance cell killing by chemotherapeutic agents without added toxicity.

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On December 6, 2016 Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: SPPI), a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in Hematology and Oncology reported the presentation of data from a case match control analysis of the PROPEL Study in a poster presentation session at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) (Press release, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, DEC 6, 2016, View Source [SID1234516962]).

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Abstract #4149: Case Match Control Analysis of Propel Reveals Survival Advantage for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL) Treated with Pralatrexate

In this retrospective, observational study, 80 patients out of 109 treated on the PROPEL study were successfully matched 1:1 with the control population. A highly significant difference in the Overall Survival between the control population and the pralatrexate group was observed. The overall survival observed in the control population was 4.04 months (95% CI 2.60, 6.01) which was consistent with historical controls, while the median OS in for pralatrexate treated cohort was 14.78 months (95% CI 10.61-22.31). The most common adverse reactions from the PROPEL study were mucositis (70%), thrombocytopenia (41%), nausea (40%), and fatigue (36%). The most common serious adverse events were pyrexia, mucositis, sepsis, febrile neutropenia, dehydration, dyspnea, and thrombocytopenia. See below for Important Safety Information.

"In this case match controlled study, the overall survival observed in the pralatrexate group was over three-fold higher than a case matched control group," said Owen A. O’Connor, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies, Professor of Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics at Columbia Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Medical Center. "The PROPEL study, which was a Phase 2, open-label, single-arm, multi-center, international trial, included patients that were heavily pretreated, with a median of three prior systemic therapies (ranging between 1 and 12). This is one of the first times a case match control analysis has been used to understand the impact of a drug on the outcome of a rare disease, like PTCL. Importantly, we believe this may be a valuable paradigm that can be used in other orphan diseases in cancer medicine."

"We are honored to present this important data at the 58th ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Meeting," said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. "We are encouraged to see positive data continuing to emerge from the PROPEL study that was the basis for FOLOTYN’s approval. FOLOTYN was the first drug approved for the treatment of relapsed or refractory PTCL and continues to have the leading market share in 2nd line therapy. PTCL is an aggressive disease with a poor prognosis and we are excited that FOLOTYN has the potential to improve outcome for PTCL patients. We are also looking forward to emerging new data in combination treatments that might prove to benefit PTCL patients in earlier lines of treatment and with the possibility to include FOLOTYN in future PTCL first line regimens."

About Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals is a leading biotechnology company focused on acquiring, developing, and commercializing drug products, with a primary focus in Hematology and Oncology. Spectrum currently markets six hematology/oncology drugs, and has an advanced stage pipeline that has the potential to transform the Company. Spectrum’s strong track record for in-licensing and acquiring differentiated drugs, and expertise in clinical development have generated a robust, diversified, and growing pipeline of product candidates in advanced-stage Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies. More information on Spectrum is available at www.sppirx.com.

About FOLOTYN

FOLOTYN, (pralatrexate injection), a folate analogue metabolic inhibitor, was discovered by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, SRI International and Southern Research Institute and developed by Allos Therapeutics. In September 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for FOLOTYN for use as a single agent for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL. This indication is based on overall response rate. Clinical benefit such as improvement in progression-free survival or overall survival has not been demonstrated. FOLOTYN has been available to patients in the U.S. since October 2009. An updated analysis of data from PROPEL, the pivotal study of FOLOTYN in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL, was published in the March 20, 2011 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. FOLOTYN has patent protection through July 2022, based on a five-year patent term extension through the Hatch-Waxman Act.

Important FOLOTYN Safety Information

Warnings and Precautions

FOLOTYN may suppress bone marrow function, manifested by thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and anemia. Monitor blood counts and omit or modify dose for hematologic toxicities.

Mucositis may occur. If greater-than or equal to Grade 2 mucositis is observed, omit or modify dose. Patients should be instructed to take folic acid and receive vitamin B12 to potentially reduce treatment-related hematological toxicity and mucositis.

Fatal dermatologic reactions may occur. Dermatologic reactions may be progressive and increase in severity with further treatment. Patients with dermatologic reactions should be monitored closely, and if severe, FOLOTYN should be withheld or discontinued. Tumor lysis syndrome may occur. Monitor patients and treat if needed.

FOLOTYN can cause fetal harm. Women should avoid becoming pregnant while being treated with FOLOTYN and pregnant women should be informed of the potential harm to the fetus.

Use caution and monitor patients when administering FOLOTYN to patients with moderate to severe renal function impairment.

Elevated liver function test abnormalities may occur and require monitoring. If liver function test abnormalities are greater-than or equal to Grade 3, omit or modify dose.

Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions were mucositis (70%), thrombocytopenia (41%), nausea (40%), and fatigue (36%). The most common serious adverse events are pyrexia, mucositis, sepsis, febrile neutropenia, dehydration, dyspnea, and thrombocytopenia.

Use in Specific Patient Population

Nursing mothers should be advised to discontinue nursing or the drug, taking into consideration the importance of the drug to the mother.

Drug Interactions

Co-administration of drugs subject to renal clearance (e.g., probenecid, NSAIDs, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) may result in delayed renal clearance.

Please see FOLOTYN Full Prescribing Information at www.FOLOTYN.com.