On April 5, 2018 Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:STML), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel oncology therapeutics, reported that it has initiated its rolling submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) for SL-401 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Press release, Stemline Therapeutics, APR 5, 2018, View Source [SID1234532232]). SL-401 is a targeted therapy directed to CD123 that has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) by the FDA.

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Ivan Bergstein, MD, CEO of Stemline, commented, "The start of our rolling BLA submission is a major milestone for Stemline and the BPDCN patient community at large. If successful, SL-401 would be the first drug ever approved for BPDCN. Moreover, we believe that SL-401 may have a transformative impact on the outcomes of patients with this lethal malignancy of high unmet medical need. With this in mind, our clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, and commercial teams continue to work expeditiously to bring SL-401 to patients as quickly as possible."

On April 4, 2018 Genoscience Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing anticancer drugs, reported the first administration of GNS561 in a Phase 1/2a clinical study in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (Press release, GenoScience, APR 5, 2018, View Source [SID1234525197]). This is the first clinical trial investigating this drug candidate, stemming from Genoscience Pharma’s research.

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This clinical research in liver cancer is led by Professor Ahmad Awada, head of medical oncology and principal investigator at the Jules Bordet Cancer Institute in Brussels, Belgium.

This international phase 1/2a study performed in Europe and the USA will evaluate safety, activity and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of escalating doses of GNS561.

Up to 36 patients will be enrolled in six cohorts during the dose escalation phase. Additional patients will be enrolled in the continuation phase to obtain a total of 20 evaluable subjects at the recommended dose.

"This clinical program represents a paradigm shift for our company; it will provide a wealth of valuable additional knowledge and data to drive our platform of metal transporter modulators towards various clinical applications for cancer therapy," said Professor Philippe Halfon, president and CEO of Genoscience Pharma.

"Since being granted a rapid approval from regulatory authorities and institutional review boards, we have initiated the first-in-class GNS561 studies. The enrollment and treatment of the first patient represents a major milestone for Genoscience Pharma," said Professor Eric Raymond, chief medical officer.

"We are excited to be enrolling our first patient with GNS561. We are hopeful that this novel anticancer drug will prove to be a significant and effective weapon against liver cancer," said Pr. Ahmad Awada, principal investigator.
The study is run as an international clinical trial conducted in Europe and the USA. Professor Ghassan Abou Alfa at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York is co-principal investigator.
His work focuses on preclinical and early-stage testing to optimize the development of stem cell-targeted cancer drugs.

About liver cancer
With more than 780,000 new cases diagnosed each year, liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, accounting for approximately 746,000 deaths annually. The majority of liver cancers are detected at the advanced stage. New treatment options are urgently needed for these patients. HCC is the most common form of liver cancer, accounting for 90 percent of the worldwide total.

About GNS561
GNS561 is a novel Solute Carrier Transporter (SLCT) inhibitor demonstrating potent antitumor activity against a range of human cancer cell lines, including HCC. It also shows activity in cell lines resistant to current standard-of-care treatment options for HCC. GNS561 is an orally bioavailable compound initially being developed for the treatment of primary liver cancer, including advanced HCC. It is also being investigated preclinically in other solid tumors.

On April 5, 2018 FORMA Therapeutics reported that it has successfully completed a critical objective under its strategic collaboration agreement with Celgene Corporation, triggering an undisclosed payment from Celgene (Press release, Forma Therapeutics, APR 5, 2018, View Source [SID1234525411]). Previously, FORMA and Celgene entered into a collaboration in the promising area of protein homeostasis to discover, develop and commercialize innovative drug candidates. This collaboration enables Celgene to evaluate select therapeutic candidates and programs in protein homeostasis during preclinical development.

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Jim Winkler, Ph.D., Vice President, Biology at FORMA Therapeutics said, "We are pleased with Celgene’s continued confidence in FORMA’s discovery research. This program represents a potential first-in-class therapeutic mechanism, by conferring both anti-tumor and immune-modulatory effects. We believe the field of protein homeostasis will deliver a promising pipeline of drugs, moving beyond cancer into immuno-oncology, inflammation and neurodegeneration."

About Protein Homeostasis
Protein homeostasis, which is important in oncology, neurodegenerative and other disorders, involves a tightly regulated network of pathways controlling the biogenesis, folding, transport and degradation of proteins. Exploring the maintenance and regulation of such competing, yet integrated, biological pathways using a chemical biology approach, should directly contribute to the understanding of diseases associated with excessive protein misfolding, aggregation and degradation.

On April 5, 2018 SignalRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel small-molecules therapeutics via in-silico design to simultaneously inhibit multiple key orthogonal and synergistic oncotargets for the treatment of cancer, reported the presentation of its novel triple CDK4-6/PI3K/BRD4 inhibitor program and first-in-class triple inhibitor SRX3177 (Press release, SignalRx, APR 5, 2018, http://www.ireachcontent.com/news-releases/signalrx-to-present-on-its-first-in-class-triple-cdk4-6pi3kbrd4-inhibitor-srx3177-for-treating-cancer-at-the-13th-annual-drug-discovery-chemistry-2018-meeting-678885923.html [SID1234527318]). The presentation by Donald L. Durden, MD, PhD, senior scientific advisor for SignalRx, will be at 2:20 pm on Thursday April 5th, 2018, in the Small Molecules for Cancer Immunotherapy session at the Drug Discovery Chemistry 2018 meeting in San Diego, CA. Data related to combinatorial small molecules which strike multiple immune-oncology cancer targets and activate the innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune response will be presented. The Small Molecules for Cancer Immunotherapy session will also be chaired by Dr. Durden.

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Using SignalRx’s proprietary CRIMP technology platform, the company designed SRX3177 to inhibit three key cancer-driving oncotargets with one drug: CDK4/6, PI3K and BRD4. SRX3177 results in synergistic synthetic lethality in cancer cells (e.g., breast cancer, mantle cell lymphoma) because this novel anticancer agent addresses the following critical cancer-driving facts:

PI3K inhibition abrogates resistance to CDK4/6 inhibition.
BRD4 inhibition decreases transcription of cyclin D1 and MYC.
MYC inhibition decreases levels of immuno-oncology targets CD47 and PD-L1.
CDK4/6 inhibition activates the AKT pathway.
"SignalRx designs all its novel chemotypes and drugs in silico. Because not a single chemotype comes from screening commercially available compounds, SignalRx has built and continues to build a strong and proprietary pipeline" said Dr. Donald L. Durden, founder and senior scientific advisor of SignalRx Pharmaceuticals and Professor and Associate Director of Pediatric Oncology at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center.

The profile of in silico designed small-molecule triple inhibitor SRX3177 includes:

Picomolar CDK4 inhibition potency.
Double-digit nM PI3K and BRD4 inhibitory potency.
BRD4-BD1 selective (5 X) vs BRD4-BD2.
5 Fold more potent than Palbociclib as CDK4 inhibitor.
19-80 Fold more potent than Palbociclib in 3 in vitro cancer cell assays.
40 Fold less toxic in normal epithelial cells vs corresponding combination of three separate inhibitors (Palbociclib + BKM120 + JQ1).
Induction of cell cycle arrest and increased apoptosis.
Lethal in 85% of the cancer cell lines tested in NCI 60 cancer-cell panel.
"All our chemotypes are small molecules (no linking moieties used). Because we rationally design all our anticancer agents from the beginning, we know how to tune in and out target affinity in our compounds. We are in an excellent position to also explore CDK4/6-BRD4 and CDK4/6-PI3K single small-molecule inhibitors for cancer and other applications" said Dr. Joseph Garlich, SignalRx’s Chief Scientific Officer.

SignalRx is also seeking partnering opportunities to accelerate the development of its programs and advance novel anticancer therapeutics into first-in-man clinical trials based on the promising profile and mode of action of its inhibitors. Since these are single molecules with a single PK/PD and toxicity profile, there is a great opportunity to streamline their development alone and in combination therapies.

On April 4, 2018 Nordic Nanovector ASA (OSE: NANO) reported an update on its clinical development programme, including updated guidance on expected milestones for the pivotal PARADIGME trial, and its financial outlook (Press release, Nordic Nanovector, APR 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234553508]). A presentation by the company’s management team will take place tomorrow in Oslo at 10 am CEST, see details below.

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• A re-assessment of expected recruitment rates has led the company to revise its timelines for the pivotal PARADIGME Phase 2b trial with Betalutin in third line (3L) follicular lymphoma (FL) patients. Results from PARADIGME are targeted for 1H 2020 (previously 2H 2019) and first regulatory filing in 2020. The first patient is expected to be dosed in 1H 2018.

• The company will focus its resources towards PARADIGME and other Betalutin clinical programmes, which has led to the decision to postpone the start of the first-in-human clinical trial with Humalutin for the foreseeable future; this study was being prepared to start in 2H 2018.

• Guidance is unchanged for previously reported milestones for ARCHER-1 (Betalutin plus rituximab in second line FL; first patient dosed) and LYMRIT 37-05 (Betalutin in R/R diffuse large B cell lymphoma, DLBCL; preliminary data read-out), both anticipated in 2H 2018.

• Financial resources are expected to be sufficient to reach data read-out from PARADIGME

Lisa Rojkjaer MD, Nordic Nanovector CMO, said: "While we are encouraged with the progress being made to the start-up of the pivotal PARADIGME study, a re-analysis of the patient enrolment rate and the fact that it has taken longer than expected to enrol the first patient have led us to adjust the timelines we previously communicated. We now expect to deliver data from PARADIGME in the first half of 2020.

"The PARADIGME study reflects our conviction in the significant potential of Betalutin based on the promising clinical data generated to-date. We therefore remain committed to completing this robust study, which is designed to select the best dosing regimen to support Betalutin as an important new treatment option for 3L FL patients."

PARADIGME – clear focus for company

PARADIGME is a global randomised Phase 2b study comparing two Betalutin dosing regimens in 3L R/R FL patients, which have shown a promising clinical profile in the LYMRIT 37-01 Phase 1/2a trial. The pivotal PARADIGME study was initiated at the end of 2017 in Europe and the first patient is expected to be dosed during the first half of 2018. The trial is aiming to enrol 130 patients in 20 countries.

To date, PARADIGME is open for enrolment at 13 sites and in six countries.

In Norway, PARADIGME is pending approval and the company is working closely with the Norwegian regulators to address its questions.

In the USA, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has completed its review of the PARADIGME study and Nordic Nanovector expects US sites to be open for enrolment during mid-2018.

Humalutin – first human trials postponed

Nordic Nanovector was preparing a Phase 1 study of Humalutin, a novel 177Lu-conjugated chimeric anti-CD37 antibody, in NHL patients. The company previously guided that it expected to start this study in the second half of 2018. As a consequence of the revised timelines for PARADIGME and the need to conserve cash until data read-out, Nordic Nanovector has decided to put the Humalutin study on hold for the foreseeable future.

ARCHER-1 and LYMRIT 37-05 – on track

ARCHER-1 is a planned clinical study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining Betalutin with rituximab in second line (2L) FL patients. The company expects the first patient to be dosed in the second half of 2018 as previously guided.

LYMRIT 37-05 is an on-going Phase 1 study evaluating Betalutin in patients with R/R DLBCL. As previously guided, the company expects preliminary data read-out from this study in the second half of 2018.

Presentation and webcast

A presentation by Nordic Nanovector’s management team will take place tomorrow at 10 am CEST at:

Thon Hotel Vika Atrium, Munkedamsveien 45, 0250 Oslo

Meeting Room: Aker

The presentation will be recorded as a webcast and will be available, with the presentation, at www.nordicnanovector.com in the section: Investors & Media