On February 12, 2018 EUSA Pharma (EUSA), reported that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending tivozanib as a first-line treatment option for advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) in line with its licensed indication (Press release, EUSA Pharma, FEB 12, 2018, View Source [SID1234523911]). Tivozanib was licensed by the European Commission (EC) in August 20171 and is an oral, once-daily, potent selective vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGFR-TKI). VEGFR-TKIs work by reducing the supply of blood to the tumour – denying it the food and oxygen it would need to grow in size.2

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In arriving at its positive recommendation, NICE considered data from the global, open-label, randomised, multi-centre Phase III trial (TiVO-1)3 which evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of tivozanib compared to a currently available comparator VEGFR-TKI (sorafenib) in the treatment of 517 patients with aRCC. Patients treated with tivozanib experienced superior progression-free survival (PFS) (11.9 vs. 9.1 months in the overall population and 12.7 vs. 9.1 months in treatment naïve patients) versus sorafenib.3 There was also an improved side effect profile with tivozanib, with only 14% (versus 43% with sorafenib) requiring a dose reduction due to adverse events (AEs).3 In addition, fewer people on tivozanib experienced burdensome side effects, such as diarrhoea (23% vs 33%), and hand-foot syndrome (14% vs 54%).3

Dr Lisa Pickering, Consultant Medical Oncologist at St George’s Hospital, London, commented: This is excellent news for patients with aRCC. A key treatment goal is to enable patients to live without their cancer progressing for longer periods of time – we cannot cure their cancer but we can help to preserve normal living for as long as possible. That is why I’m delighted that NICE has recommended tivozanib as a treatment option."

Around 12 people in the UK die every day of kidney cancer, with more than 40% of cases in England diagnosed at a late (advanced) stage. Kidney cancer is expected to be one of the fastest increasing cancers over the next 10 years, as a result of the UK’s ageing population, and with smoking and a rise in obesity also playing a part.4

Nick Turkentine, Chief Executive of Kidney Cancer UK, said: "With over 12,500 new cases of kidney cancer being diagnosed every year this is a great result for people with aRCC and the overall fight with the disease. It is vitally important patients have access to effective, well-tolerated treatments, so they can spend more precious time with their families and loved ones. We applaud EUSA Pharma, NICE and NHS England for making this happen."

Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) who may benefit from treatment with tivozanib will be able to access it from today as the final guidance is published, and should be able to have immediate access through the CDF.

Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer commented "We are very pleased that NICE are recommending the use of Fotivda for the first line treatment of advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma and that Fotivda will be funded immediately in England and Wales, meaning physicians and patients can experience the benefits of Fotivda. Fotivda has the potential to become an important new first-line therapy and the recommendation by NICE is a great achievement for the EUSA team delivering on their mission to improve the lives of those patients suffering from cancer."

On February 10, 2018 AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ: AVEO) and EUSA Pharma reported the presentation of preliminary results from the Phase 2 portion of the TiNivo study, a Phase 1b/2 multicenter trial of oral (PO) tivozanib (FOTIVDA) in combination with intravenous (IV) nivolumab (OPDIVO, Bristol-Myers Squibb), an immune checkpoint, or PD-1, inhibitor, for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) (Press release, AVEO, FEB 10, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2331694 [SID1234523891]). The results were presented today at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper)’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU), in a poster presentation titled "Tivozanib combined with nivolumab: Phase Ib/II study in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC)" (Abstract 618). A copy of the presentation is available at www.aveooncology.com or further information can be obtained via EUSA Pharma Medical Information.

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The Phase 1/2 study has enrolled a total of 27 patients. The Phase 2 portion of the study (n=21) was designed to assess the safety, tolerability, and anti-tumor activity of the full dose and schedule of PO tivozanib (1.5 mg/QD for 21 days followed by a 7-day rest period), as established in the Phase 1 portion of the study (n=6), in combination with IV nivolumab (240 mg every 2 weeks). The combination was generally well tolerated. Treatment-related Grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 44% of patients, the most common of which was hypertension.

Preliminary efficacy was assessed in 14 patients treated with the full dose and schedule of PO tivozanib in combination with IV nivolumab and enrolled at least 4 months prior to the data cutoff date. Of these, seven had received at least one prior systemic therapy. An objective response rate was observed in 64% of patients (partial responses), and a disease control rate (partial response + stable disease) was observed in 100% of patients. At the time of data collection, 11 of 14 evaluable patients remained on study.

"These preliminary data continue to support the rationale for choosing a high-specificity VEGF inhibitor TKI, such as tivozanib, in building upon the benefit of immune checkpoint therapy in renal cancer," said Doctor Bernard Escudier, MD, ex-Chairman of the Genitourinary Oncology Committee, Gustave Roussy, and lead investigator of the study. "Combining VEGF TKIs and immune checkpoint inhibitors has been hampered by toxicity, potentially emerging with the use of other TKIs, while minimal off-target toxicities have been observed with tivozanib in this combination. These results open the possibility for triple-combination therapy using tivozanib, nivolumab and ipilimumab, an immune system activator targeting CTLA-4."

"We believe that VEGF TKI-immunotherapy combinations are the obvious next step in the evolution of treatment within mRCC, which underscores the need for a VEGF therapy with best-in-class safety," said Michael Needle, M.D., chief medical officer of AVEO. "The preliminary activity and favorable safety profile observed thus far in the TiNivo study are encouraging and support the further exploration of tivozanib combinations with immuno-oncology therapies. In addition to the TiNivo study, we continue to look forward to topline data in the second quarter of 2018 from our Phase 3 TIVO-3 study, which, together with the previously completed TIVO-1 trial of tivozanib in the first line treatment of mRCC, is designed to support a request for regulatory approval of tivozanib in North America as a first and third line treatment for mRCC."

Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer said, "We are excited by the continued development potential for tivozanib and the data arising from initial studies in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. As an effective TKI with a favorable tolerability profile, we are already launching tivozanib across the EU in line with its recent approval as monotherapy in the first line setting, and on the basis of the TiNivo study, we look forward to the potential to develop new innovative treatment options for patients in the future."

About Tivozanib (FOTIVDA)

Tivozanib (FOTIVDA) is an oral, once-daily, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) discovered by Kyowa Hakko Kirin and approved for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Union plus Norway and Iceland. It is a potent, selective and long half-life inhibitor of all three VEGF receptors and is designed to optimize VEGF blockade while minimizing off-target toxicities, potentially resulting in improved efficacy and minimal dose modifications.1,2 Tivozanib has been shown to significantly reduce regulatory T-cell production in preclinical models, enabling potentially enhanced activity when used in combination with immune modulating therapy. As part of a North American registration plan, Tivozanib is currently being studied in the Phase 3 TIVO-3 trial, a randomized, controlled, multi-center, open-label study to compare tivozanib to sorafenib in subjects with refractory advanced RCC. Tivozanib has been investigated in several tumors types, including renal cell, hepatocellular, colorectal and breast cancers.

lthough emerging immuno-oncology products have been able to elicit unprecedented responses in cancers that are easily accessible to immune cells (eg. leukemia), solid tumors may be resistant to such therapies. 7 Hills is developing cost effective, safe therapeutics to overcome such resistance. Our lead compounds have the potential to increase the antitumor activity of numerous emerging cell-based immunotherapies, and enable the use of recently approved drugs to treat solid tumors that are currently refractory to therapy.

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7HP compounds target validated cell adhesion pathways that are critical for T cell homing to specific tissues. They are the only known activators of both the VLA-4/VCAM-1 and LFA-1/ICAM-1 cell adhesion axes. Activation of these adhesion pathways could significantly increase the trafficking of endogenous effector lymphocytes (targets of checkpoint blockade therapeutics) or adoptively transferred effectors (like CAR-T cells) into solid tumors.

Pre-clinical studies have shown that 7HP lead compounds:

Increase the adhesion of activated T-cells to simulated tumor endothelium by 100 fold,
Increase the penetration of activated T-cells into simulated tumor stroma.

On February 9, 2018 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) reported financial results for its fiscal 2018 first quarter ended December 31, 2017 (Press release, Arrowhead Research Corporation, FEB 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234523890]). The company is hosting a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST to discuss results.

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Conference Call and Webcast Details

Investors may access a live audio webcast on the Company’s website at View Source For analysts that wish to participate in the conference call, please dial 855-215-6159 or 315-625-6887 and provide Conference ID 4788374.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 90 days. An audio replay will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will be available for 3 days. To access the audio replay, dial 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 and provide Conference ID 4788374.

Selected Fiscal 2018 First Quarter and Recent Events

Filed a Clinical Trial Application for ARO-AAT, a second generation subcutaneously administered clinical candidate for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency liver disease

Filed a Clinical Trial Application for ARO-HBV, a third generation subcutaneously administered clinical candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Presented new clinical data at HEP DART 2017 demonstrating up to 5.0 log10 reduction in HBV s-antigen and a Sustained Host Response in 50% of hepatitis B patients following RNAi therapy, ARC-520, in the 2001 open-label extension study

Made continued progress on a two-product cardiovascular collaboration with Amgen, in which one that was previously called ARO-LPA against the target lipoprotein(a) has been formally nominated as a potential clinical candidate and which is now referred to as AMG 890 by Amgen

Expanded Arrowhead’s cardiometabolic pipeline, which now includes ARO-APOC3, targeting apolipoprotein C-III, and ARO-ANG3, targeting angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3); with CTA filings planned around the end of 2018

Achieved continued progress with the Company’s extra-hepatic platform and pipeline, including:

ARO-Lung1, Arrowhead’s first candidate against an undisclosed gene target in the lung, which achieved nearly 90% target knockdown following inhaled administration in rodents

ARO-HIF2, the Company’s candidate targeting renal cell carcinoma, which achieved 85% target gene knockdown in a rodent tumor model

On February 9, 2019 Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:CALA), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel cancer therapeutics, reported that Susan M. Molineaux, Ph.D, the company’s Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the Leerink Partners Global Healthcare Conference at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 15, 2018 in New York City (Press release, Calithera Biosciences, FEB 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234535246]). The presentation will be webcast live and available for replay for up to 30 days at www.calithera.com in the Investor Relations section

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

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