FDA Approves Supplemental New Drug Application for XTANDI® (enzalutamide) Capsules in Advanced Prostate Cancer

On October 21, 2016 Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE (link is external)) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to update the U.S. product labeling for XTANDI (enzalutamide) capsules to include new clinical data versus bicalutamide from the TERRAIN study (Press release, Pfizer, OCT 21, 2016, View Source [SID1234515947]). The data demonstrate improvement in radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who were treated with enzalutamide compared to patients who were treated with bicalutamide.

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The TERRAIN study evaluated men with metastatic CRPC and the results from this study were published in the Lancet Oncology. The updated label includes data that enzalutamide reduces the risk of radiographic progression or death by 40% compared with bicalutamide, showing a median rPFS of 19.5 months for the enzalutamide group versus a median of 13.4 months for the bicalutamide group (hazard ratio = 0.60 [0.43, 0.83]; 95% confidence interval) based on an analysis recommended by the FDA. The safety profile of enzalutamide was consistent with results of earlier enzalutamide trials.

"The addition of data from the TERRAIN trial continues to build the body of evidence that demonstrates the clinical impact XTANDI can have for patients living with metastatic CRPC," said Steven Benner, M.D., senior vice president, therapeutic area head for oncology development, Astellas. "Advances in scientific knowledge as seen through clinical trials like TERRAIN would not be possible without the participation of hundreds of patients, family members and clinical investigators, and we thank them for their valuable contributions."

According to the American Cancer Society, each year approximately 181,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and an estimated 26,000 men will die of the disease in 2016.1 Up to 40 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer who undergo therapy develop metastatic, or advanced, prostate cancer.2 In the U.S., the five-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer patients with metastatic disease is 28 percent, compared with 100 percent for prostate cancer patients with non-metastatic disease.3

"We are pleased with the FDA’s decision to update the XTANDI label with these data from the first and largest comparative trial that demonstrated safety and efficacy of enzalutamide compared to bicalutamide," said Mohammad Hirmand, M.D., interim chief medical officer at Medivation, Inc., which is now part of Pfizer. "We believe these data will help physicians better understand the differences between enzalutamide and bicalutamide for their patients living with metastatic CRPC."

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued a positive opinion onApril 1, 2016 recommending approval of a type II variation to include data from the TERRAIN trials in the European label for XTANDI.

About the TERRAIN trial

The Phase II TERRAIN trial enrolled 375 chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic CRPC in North America and Europe. Radiographic progression-free survival was defined as the time from randomization to the first objective evidence of radiographic progression as assessed by Independent Central Review or death, whichever occurred first. The trial was designed to evaluate patients who were randomized 1:1 to receive enzalutamide at a dose of 160 mg taken orally once daily versus bicalutamide at a dose of 50 mg taken once daily.

Grade 3-4 adverse reactions were reported in 38.8% of enzalutamide-treated patients and 37.6% of bicalutamide-treated patients. Individual Grade 3 or higher adverse events largely occurred at a similar rate (<1% difference) between the enzalutamide vs. bicalutamide treatment groups, with the exception of hypertension (7.1% vs. 4.4%), diarrhea (0% vs. 1.1%) and back pain (2.7% vs. 1.6%). Two seizures were reported in the enzalutamide group and one in the bicalutamide group. The most common Grade 1-4 adverse reactions (incidence ≥10%) occurring during treatment and more common in the enzalutamide-treated versus bicalutamide-treated patients included asthenic conditions, back pain, musculoskeletal pain, hot flush, hypertension, diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infection, and weight loss.

About XTANDI (enzalutamide) capsules

XTANDI (enzalutamide) capsules is an androgen receptor inhibitor that blocks multiple steps in the androgen receptor signaling pathway within the tumor cell. In preclinical studies, enzalutamide has been shown to competitively inhibit androgen binding to androgen receptors, and inhibit androgen receptor nuclear translocation and interaction with DNA. The clinical significance of this mechanism of action (MOA) is unknown.

XTANDI is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Important Safety Information

Contraindications

XTANDI is not indicated for women. XTANDI can cause fetal harm and potential loss of pregnancy.

Warnings and Precautions

Seizure occurred in 0.5% of patients receiving XTANDI in clinical studies. In placebo-controlled studies, 8 of 1671 (0.5%) patients treated with XTANDI and 1 of 1243 (0.1%) patients treated with placebo experienced a seizure. In patients who previously received docetaxel, 7 of 800 (0.9%) patients treated with XTANDI experienced a seizure and no patients treated with placebo experienced a seizure. In a placebo-controlled study in chemotherapy-naïve patients, 1 of 871 (0.1%) treated with XTANDI and 1 of 844 (0.1%) patients treated with placebo experienced a seizure. In bicalutamide-controlled studies conducted in chemotherapy-naïve patients, 3 of 380 (0.8%) patients treated with XTANDI and 1 of 387 (0.3%) patients treated with bicalutamide experienced a seizure. Permanently discontinue XTANDI in patients who develop a seizure during treatment.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) In post approval use, there have been reports of PRES in patients receiving XTANDI. PRES is a neurological disorder which can present with rapidly evolving symptoms including seizure, headache, lethargy, confusion, blindness, and other visual and neurological disturbances, with or without associated hypertension. A diagnosis of PRES requires confirmation by brain imaging, preferably MRI. Discontinue XTANDI in patients who develop PRES.

Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions (≥ 10%) that occurred more commonly (≥ 2% over placebo) in the XTANDI patients from the two placebo-controlled clinical trials were asthenia/fatigue, back pain, decreased appetite, constipation, arthralgia, diarrhea, hot flush, upper respiratory tract infection, peripheral edema, dyspnea, musculoskeletal pain, weight decreased, headache, hypertension, and dizziness/vertigo. In the bicalutamide-controlled study of chemotherapy naïve patients, the most common adverse reactions (≥ 10%) reported in XTANDI patients were asthenia/fatigue, back pain, musculoskeletal pain, hot flush, hypertension, nausea, constipation, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, and weight loss.

In the study of patients taking XTANDI who previously received docetaxel, Grade 3 and higher adverse reactions were reported among 47% of XTANDI patients and 53% of placebo patients. Discontinuations due to adverse events were reported for 16% of XTANDI patients and 18% of placebo patients. In the placebo-controlled study of chemotherapy-naïve patients, Grade 3-4 adverse reactions were reported in 44% of XTANDI patients and 37% of placebo patients. Discontinuations due to adverse events were reported for 6% of both study groups. In the bicalutamide-controlled study of chemotherapy naïve patients, Grade 3-4 adverse reactions were reported in 38.8% of XTANDI patients and 37.6% of bicalutamide patients. Discontinuations due to adverse events were reported for 7.6% of XTANDI patients and 6.3% of bicalutamide patients.

Lab Abnormalities: In the two placebo-controlled trials Grade 1-4 neutropenia occurred in 15% of XTANDI patients (1% Grade 3-4) and 6% of placebo patients (0.5% Grade 3-4). Grade 1-4 thrombocytopenia occurred in 6% of XTANDI patients (0.3% Grade 3-4) and 5% of placebo patients (0.5% Grade 3-4). Grade 1-4 elevations in ALT occurred in 10% of XTANDI patients (0.2% Grade 3-4) and 16% of placebo patients (0.2% Grade 3-4). Grade 1-4 elevations in bilirubin occurred in 3% of XTANDI patients (0.1% Grade 3-4) and 2% of placebo patients (no Grade 3-4).

Infections: In a study of patients taking XTANDI who previously received docetaxel, 1% of XTANDI patients compared to 0.3% of placebo patients died from infections or sepsis. In the placebo-controlled study of chemotherapy-naïve patients, 1 patient in each treatment group (0.1%) had an infection resulting in death.

Falls (including fall-related injuries) occurred in 9% of XTANDI patients and 4% of placebo patients in the two placebo-controlled trials. Falls were not associated with loss of consciousness or seizure. Fall-related injuries were more severe in XTANDI patients, and included non-pathologic fractures, joint injuries, and hematomas.

Hypertension occurred in 11% of XTANDI patients and 4% of placebo patients in the two placebo-controlled trials. No patients experienced hypertensive crisis. Medical history of hypertension was balanced between arms. Hypertension led to study discontinuation in < 1% of all patients in each arm.

Drug Interactions

Effect of Other Drugs on XTANDI Avoid strong CYP2C8 inhibitors, as they can increase the plasma exposure to XTANDI. If co-administration is necessary, reduce the dose of XTANDI. Avoid strong CYP3A4 inducers as they can decrease the plasma exposure to XTANDI. If co-administration is necessary, increase the dose of XTANDI.

Effect of XTANDI on Other Drugs Avoid CYP3A4, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 substrates with a narrow therapeutic index, as XTANDI may decrease the plasma exposures of these drugs. If XTANDI is co-administered with warfarin (CYP2C9 substrate), conduct additional INR monitoring.

Please see Full Prescribing Information (link is external) at View Source (link is external) for additional safety information.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.

Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch (link is external) or call 1‐800‐FDA‐1088.

Myriad Genetics Inc. Forms Relationship with ION Solutions to Deliver Quality Hereditary Cancer Tests and Services to the Nation’s Largest Network of Community Oncologists

On October 21, 2016 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a global leader in personalized medicine, and ION Solutions, a part of AmerisourceBergen, and the largest physician services organization specializing in the support of community oncology, reported that they have entered into a relationship to deliver quality hereditary cancer test results and services to ION member practices (Press release, Myriad Genetics, OCT 21, 2016, View Source [SID1234515948]). Through this relationship, Myriad and ION will work together to enhance the operational and clinical value associated with hereditary cancer testing. Myriad will be ION’s preferred partner for hereditary cancer testing focused on bringing specialized tests and services to meet the specific needs of community oncology practices. This partnership will advance the organizations’ shared goals of providing accurate and comprehensive hereditary cancer test results and service to community oncologists and their patients.

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"Myriad has demonstrated its commitment to quality with its significant investments in research, laboratory processes, variant interpretation and exceptional customer service," said Mark Santos, RPh, president of ION GPO. "This relationship supports ION Solutions in making important genetic tests available to our members in a way that will help inform treatment decisions and build patient care plans in the context of specific practice processes and objectives."

"ION Solutions is the industry leader in bringing effective business and clinical solutions to the largest segment of community oncology practices in the nation," said Alexander Ford, president of Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc. "Our focus as a company is on providing accurate, affordable and clinically significant genetic test results to providers and the patients they care for. We believe we share this commitment with ION Solutions and their members, and that through this partnership, the largest, most innovative private practices in the country will gain enhanced access to our services."

CEL-SCI PROVIDES UPDATE ON PARTIAL CLINICAL HOLD ON PHASE 3 CLINICAL TRIAL

On October 21, 2016 CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE MKT: CVM) reported: following up on our press release issued on September 26, 2016, we have received the Partial Clinical Hold letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Press release, Cel-Sci, OCT 21, 2016, View Source [SID1234515949]). CEL-SCI has started working on a response to the FDA and will work diligently with the FDA to seek to have the partial clinical hold lifted.

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Synaffix Enters into a Commercial License Agreement with ADC Therapeutics

On October 20, 2016 Synaffix BV reported it has entered into a Commercial License Agreement with ADC Therapeutics for its proprietary GlycoConnect and HydraSpace site-specific antibody-drug conjugate technologies (Press release, Synaffix, OCT 20, 2016, View Source [SID1234522092]).

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Under the terms of the agreement, ADC Therapeutics has been granted a single-target license for one of its preclinical programs and has also been granted an option to take a limited number of additional single-target licenses for potential future programs.

Floris van Delft, CSO at Synaffix said,

"We are delighted that ADC Therapeutics has recognized the value of our proprietary antibody-drug conjugate technologies and has elected to incorporate Synaffix technology into one of its preclinical programs."

"The experience of Synaffix and its partners has consistently confirmed that, in preclinical models, our proprietary GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies significantly improved both efficacy and safety as compared to other mainstream site-specific conjugation approaches."

"We look forward to working closely with the ADC Therapeutics team to advance these promising therapeutics to the patients who need them."

Synaffix is eligible to receive upfront, milestone and royalty payments on a per-target basis.

About GlycoConnect and HydraSpace

The Synaffix technology platforms include GlycoConnect, the site-specific and stable antibody conjugation technology that involves proprietary enzymes and metal-free click conjugation reagents, and HydraSpace, the antibody-drug conjugate enhancing spacer technology.

GlycoConnect was shown to be capable of significantly enhancing the therapeutic index of an antibody-drug conjugate on its own. The highly polar properties of HydraSpace improve the solubility and stability of the payload and the resulting antibody-drug conjugate product, thus enhancing further the therapeutic index of the antibody-drug conjugate.

Both technologies have demonstrated compatibility with all antibody-drug conjugate payload classes and all IgG isotypes without requiring antibody engineering.

Galena Biopharma Presents GALE-301/GALE-302 Phase 1b Data at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2016

On October 20, 2016 Galena Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:GALE), a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of hematology and oncology therapeutics that address unmet medical needs, reported that Dr. Doreen Jackson delivered a podium presentation on Galena’s GALE-301 and GALE-302 clinical program at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2016 in Washington, D.C (Press release, Galena Biopharma, OCT 20, 2016, View Source [SID1234515933]). GALE-301 (E39) and GALE-302 (E39’ – variant of E39) are cancer immunotherapies that consist of a peptide derived from Folate Binding Protein (FBP) combined with the immune adjuvant, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for the prevention of cancer recurrence in the adjuvant setting. The Phase 1b is a single-center, randomized, single-blinded, three-arm study in patients with breast or ovarian cancer diagnosis who were treated with standard of care and were without evidence of disease. This trial augments the Phase 1/2a trial with single-agent GALE-301 in ovarian and endometrial cancers.

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The presentation is entitled, "A Phase Ib Trial Comparing Different Doses/Schedules of a Folate Binding Protein (FBP)-derived Peptide Vaccine, E39, and its Attenuated Version, E39’, to Induce Long-term FBP-specific Immunity in Disease-free Cancer Patients." In this trial, which enrolled mostly breast cancer patients, who have lower FBP exposure than ovarian patients, the 500mcg dose appears to provide a more optimal immunological response. This differs from the results in ovarian cancer patients, who have much higher FBP expression, with potential secondary immune tolerance, where 1000mcg was the optimal dose. However, E39’ (GALE-302) given after E39 (GALE-301) was able to induce long-term immunity in both dosing cohorts, underscoring the potential importance of attenuated peptides in relatively antigen-naïve patients.

In the patients who received 500mcg of peptide (n=14), delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), but not E39-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), increased at 1- and 6-months post-primary vaccine series (PVS)(p=0.03 for both). No differences were seen in the patients (n=16) who received 1000mcg of peptide. Comparing the 3 arms in patients who received 500 mcg dosing, only the patients who received E39 followed by E39’ showed increased DTH at 1-month (p=0.013) and 6-months (p<0.0001). In the patients with this same schedule who received 1000mcg of peptide, at 6-months they saw increased DTH (p=0.02) and CTLs (p=0.046). There were no clinicopathologic differences or toxicities greater than grade 2 seen in any of the doses or schedules.

"Similar to the FBP expression levels presented earlier this month from the GALE-301 clinical trial, this GALE-301/GALE-302 data on dosing and treatment schedules is extremely valuable as it highlights the potential utility of the vaccine in different cancer indications as we plan the next path forward for our clinical program targeting FBP," said Bijan Nejadnik, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. "This data adds to the body of science for the vaccine and is instrumental in understanding the interaction of our peptides in the treatment landscape. Importantly, the immunologically active doses of the vaccine targeting FBP seem to vary between the breast and ovarian patient populations, and may reflect the implication of the level of FBP expression on the cells. We may consider the use of an attenuated version of this peptide in patient populations with lower FBP expression, since the potency of the FBP vaccine could lead to T-cell burn-out in patients over time."

Dr. Nejadnik continued, "We would like to congratulate Dr. Jackson who was given an award for ‘Excellence in Research’ by the American College of Surgeons for her work on this program. And, we look forward to her poster presentation in December at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium where she will be providing additional data from this trial in breast cancer patients."

HLA-A2-positive breast or ovarian cancer patients were enrolled after completion of standard of care and without evidence of disease, regardless of FBP expression level. The PVS includes six inoculations, one every 3-4 weeks containing 250mcg GM-CSF plus 500mcg peptide in the first five patients per arm (n=14) and 250mcg GM-CSF + 1000mcg of peptide in the second five patients (n=16). Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and E39-specific CTLs were assessed at one and six months post-PVS. Thirty-nine patients were randomized into three arms with 30 breast (n=27) or ovarian (n=3) cancer patients completing the PVS and assessed for this presentation:

E39 (GALE-301) x 6 inoculations (n=10)
E39 (GALE-301) x 3 inoculations followed by E39’ (GALE-302) x 3 inoculations (n=10)
E39’ (GALE-302) x 3 inoculations followed by E39 (GALE-301) x 3 inoculations (n=10)
About GALE-301 and GALE-302

GALE-301 and GALE-302 are cancer immunotherapies that consist of a peptide derived from Folate Binding Protein (FBP) combined with the immune adjuvant, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for the prevention of cancer recurrence in the adjuvant setting. GALE-301 is the E39 peptide, while GALE-302 is an attenuated version of this peptide, known as E39’. FBP is a well-validated therapeutic target that is highly over-expressed in ovarian, endometrial and breast cancers, and is the source of immunogenic peptides that can stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to recognize and destroy FBP-expressing cancer cells. Two trials are ongoing with FBP peptides: the GALE-301 Phase 2a portion of the Phase 1/2a clinical trial is ongoing in ovarian and endometrial adenocarcinomas (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01580696); the GALE-301 plus GALE-302 Phase 1b clinical trial is ongoing in breast and ovarian cancers (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02019524).

About Breast Cancer1

New cases of breast cancer occur at an annual rate of 125 per 100,000 women in the U.S., with an estimated 246,660 new cases and 40,450 deaths in 2016. Approximately 89.7% of breast cancer patients are expected to survive five years after diagnosis. Approximately 12.4% of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their lifetime (2011 – 2013 data). The prevalence data from 2013 showed an estimated 3,053,450 women living with breast cancer in the United States.

About Ovarian Cancer1

New cases of ovarian cancer occur at an annual rate of 11.9 per 100,000 women in the U.S., with an estimated 22,280 new cases and 14,240 deaths in 2016. Approximately 46.2% of ovarian cancer patients are expected to survive five years after diagnosis. Approximately 1.3% of women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer at some point during their lifetime (2011 – 2013 data). The prevalence data from 2013 showed an estimated 195,767 women living with ovarian cancer in the United States.

Due to the lack of specific symptoms, the majority of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at later stages of the disease, with an estimated 75% of women presenting with advanced-stage (III or IV) disease. These patients have their tumors routinely surgically debulked to minimal residual disease, and then are treated with platinum- and/or taxane-based chemotherapy. While many patients respond to this treatment regimen and become clinically free-of-disease, the majority of these patients will relapse. Depending upon their level of residual disease, the risk for recurrence after completion of primary therapy ranges from 60% to 85%. Unfortunately for these women, once the disease recurs, treatment options are limited and the disease remains incurable.