On April 4, 2017 Oxis International Inc. (OTCQB: OXIS and Euronext Paris OXI.PA) reported that the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Oxis Biotech Inc., to begin a FDA Phase 2 clinical trial for its promising cancer treatment OXS-1550 in the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia (Press release, OXIS International, APR 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234539558]).

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Oxis Biotech, a targeted immuno-oncology company focused on novel antibody constructs, owns the worldwide rights to commercialize OXS-1550.

The FDA Phase 2 clinical trial will be conducted with Oxis’ partner, the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center. Researchers at the University of Minnesota recently completed a FDA Phase 1 trial of OXS-1550. The Phase 1 portion of the trial completed a safety review to determine the safe and effective dose of the drug.

OXS-1550 uses a proprietary immunoconjugate platform technology, as a treatment for leukemia and other blood-born cancers. What sets OXS-1550 (DT2219ARL) apart from other treatments, such as chemotherapy, is that it is designed to specifically target and kill cancer cells minimizing damage to normal tissues.

"This milestone represents a major step forward for our technology. The product has performed well in its phase 1 studies in blood cancers and we look forward to positive results in Phase 2," said Anthony Cataldo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Oxis. "This next generation drug has the possibility of treating a number of different liquid tumors and, if successful, will drastically change the paradigm now being developed that relies on highly expensive autologous cell therapies such as presented by Kite Pharma, Inc. (KITE), Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (JUNO) and other autologous or semi-autologous and adoptive therapy approaches currently under development."

Dr. Daniel Vallera, director of the section on Molecular Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, lead developer of OXS-1550 said, "The FDA’s clearance for Phase 2 is an important step forward for this cancer treatment."

Dr. Vallera has spent 35 years with the University of Minnesota’s cancer center, where he oversees a laboratory specializing in the development of biological recombinant drugs focusing on bispecific antibody therapies that directly deliver toxic signals to cancer cells.

"We are excited to see this new therapy proceed to Phase 2," Dr. Vallera said. "So many of these patients presenting with chemotherapy refractory cancer have few, if any, alternative choices for cancer treatment."

On April 4, 2017 OncoResponse, an immuno-oncology antibody discovery company, reported that Chief Executive Officer Clifford J. Stocks will present an update on the Company and the status of its discovery and development pipeline at the 24th annual Future Leaders in the Biotech Industry conference hosted by BioCentury (Press release, OncoResponse, APR 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234522896]). The presentation will take place at 11:00am ET on April 7, 2017 at the Millennium Broadway hotel in New York City, NY.

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OncoResponse utilizes a clinically validated platform technology to rapidly screen antibodies made by the human immune system and identify those antibodies with exceptional activity to cancer from elite responders following immunotherapy. The Company has a strategic alliance with the MD Anderson Cancer Center, which provides broad access to patient samples across multiple cancer indications and to oncology and translational medicine expertise including clinical and regulatory advice.

OncoResponse recently closed a $22.5 million Series A financing with a syndicate of blue chip venture capital and strategic investors including MD Anderson Cancer Center, ARCH Venture Partners, GreatPoint Ventures, Helsinn Investment Fund, Shire, Canaan Partners, HT Family Office (of China), Alexandria Real Estate Equities and William Marsh Rice University.

(Filing, Annual, Celyad, 2016, APR 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234518464])

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On April 3, 2017 SignalRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., focused on developing novel small-molecule cancer therapeutics targeting key orthogonal and synergistic oncotargets, reported the upcoming presentation of scientific data on the company’s triple PI3K/CDK4-6/BRD4 inhibitor program and first-in-class triple inhibitor SRX3177 (Press release, SignalRx, APR 3, 2017, http://www.ireachcontent.com/news-releases/signalrx-to-present-at-the-aacr-annual-meeting-on-its-first-in-class-triple-pi3kcdk4-6brd4-inhibitor-srx3177-for-treating-cancer-617971313.html [SID1234527324]). The poster presentation by Dr. Donald L. Durden, MD, PhD, senior scientific advisor for SignalRx, will be poster #LB-298 at the April 5th late breaking poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

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SRX3177 is developed on the rationale that concurrent PI3K inhibition can prevent resistance to CDK4/6 inhibition, and combined CDK4/6 and PI3K inhibition leads to synthetic lethality reported in a number of cancer types, including breast cancer and mantle cell lymphoma, and blocking the chromatin reader protein BRD4 downregulates MYC and cyclin D1 transcription, further promoting cell cycle arrest in G1.

The presentation will describe the discovery and early development of the molecularly designed small-molecule triple inhibitor SRX3177. Key highlights to be presented include:

SRX3177’s potent in vitro enzymatic inhibition profile (IC50: CDK4 = 2.54 nM, CDK6 = 3.26 nM; PI3Kα = 79.3 nM, PI3Kδ = 83.4 nM; BRD4-BD1 = 32.9 nM, BRD4-BD2 = 88.8 nM).
SRX3177 rational design based on thieno-pyranone scaffold and target modeling.
Up to 82-fold more potent than palbociclib in a panel of mantle cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.
5-Fold more potent in cancer cells than combination of BKM120 (PI3K inhibitor) + palbociclib (CDK4/6 inhibitor) + JQ1 (BRD4 inhibitor).
40-Fold less toxic to normal epithelial cells than combination of BKM120 + palbociclib + JQ1.
Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction with proven mode of action (p-AKT, p-Rb, chromatin release).
SignalRx is also announcing that it is seeking partnering opportunities to accelerate the development of this program and its PI3K-BRD4 program to advance novel small molecules into first-in-man clinical trials based on the promising profile of its inhibitors shown so far. Since these are single molecules with a single PK/PD and toxicity profile, there is a great opportunity to develop them as single therapeutics and streamline their development in combination therapies focused on companion diagnostics built around synthetic lethality discoveries in human cancers.

On April 3, 2016-Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) reported that CheckMate -143, a randomized Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Opdivo in patients with first recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), did not meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival over bevacizumab monotherapy (Press release, Bristol-Myers Squibb, APR 3, 2017, View Source [SID1234518425]). These data will be presented on May 7, 2017 at the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology Societies (WFNOS) meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

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"GBM is a historically difficult disease to treat and conventional treatment options have demonstrated limited responses," said Fouad Namouni, M.D., head of Oncology Development and head of Medical, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "We remain steadfast in our pursuit of treatments for diseases with the highest unmet need and continue our work to determine how our Immuno-Oncology agents can potentially improve outcomes for these patients."

CheckMate -143 was the first randomized clinical trial in GBM with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor. BMS has two first-line GBM clinical trials, CheckMate -498 and CheckMate -548, evaluating the combination of Opdivo with radiation therapy with or without temozolomide in O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT)-unmethylated and methylated patients. These trials are moving forward as planned.

Bristol-Myers Squibb & Immuno-Oncology: Advancing Oncology Research

At Bristol-Myers Squibb, patients are at the center of everything we do. Our vision for the future of cancer care is focused on researching and developing transformational Immuno-Oncology (I-O) medicines that will raise survival expectations in hard-to-treat cancers and will change the way patients live with cancer.

We are leading the scientific understanding of I-O through our extensive portfolio of investigational and approved agents, including the first combination of two I-O agents in metastatic melanoma, and our differentiated clinical development program, which is studying broad patient populations across more than 35 types of cancers with 13 clinical-stage molecules designed to target different immune system pathways. Our deep expertise and innovative clinical trial designs uniquely position us to advance the science of combinations across multiple tumors and potentially deliver the next wave of I-O combination regimens with a sense of urgency. We also continue to pioneer research that will help facilitate a deeper understanding of the role of immune biomarkers and inform which patients will benefit most from I-O therapies.

We understand making the promise of I-O a reality for the many patients who may benefit from these therapies requires not only innovation on our part but also close collaboration with leading experts in the field. Our partnerships with academia, government, advocacy and biotech companies support our collective goal of providing new treatment options to advance the standards of clinical practice.

About Opdivo

Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body’s own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers.

Opdivo’s leading global development program is based on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has enrolled more than 25,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression.

In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 60 countries, including the United States, the European Union and Japan. In October 2015, the company’s Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology combination to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States and the European Union.