On June 3, 2022 Sapience Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of peptide therapeutics to address difficult-to-treat cancers, reported data from a Phase 1 study demonstrating efficacy proof-of-concept of the Company’s lead program, ST101, in patients with refractory solid tumors (Press release, Sapience Therapeutics, JUN 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234615517]). The data will be presented in a poster discussion session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on June 5, 2022.

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ST101, a first-in-class peptide antagonist of C/EBPβ, is currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 portion of an ongoing Phase 1-2 clinical study in patients with advanced unresectable and metastatic solid tumors (NCT04478279). The primary objectives of the Phase 1 clinical study were to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ST101 and to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose. Secondary and exploratory objectives included pharmacokinetics (PK), preliminary efficacy (RECIST 1.1), and pharmacodynamic (PD) evaluation. The study used a 3+3 dose-escalation design, with once-weekly IV infusion dosing of ST101 at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 mg/kg or a flat dose of 500 mg.

Phase 1 Study Results:

As of May 5, 2022, 25 patients with multi-metastatic disease that were refractory to standard therapy received a median of 8 weeks of treatment
Three patients show ongoing clinical benefit:
One confirmed PR lasting more than 51 weeks in a patient with cutaneous melanoma
Eight patients with varying histologies had stable disease lasting 9-81+ weeks (2 ongoing)
No DLTs, dose modifications, or serious adverse events (SAEs) related to ST101
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics support the selection of a 500 mg flat dose as the recommended Phase 2 dose
Dr. Alice Bexon, Sapience’s Chief Medical Officer, commented, "We remain extremely pleased with the safety and efficacy ST101 has demonstrated in Phase 1, with evidence of clinical benefit across the whole dose range explored, particularly at higher doses and in patients with melanoma. The Phase 2 expansion portion of the study is going very well, with all cohorts enrolling, and a confirmed partial response in a patient with recurrent glioblastoma, which is very exciting. We believe that ST101’s unique mechanism of action targeting C/EBPß represents a potentially transformative approach to treating cancer."

+indicates ongoing treatment

SD=stable disease
PR=partial response

Details of the poster presentation at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2022 are as follows:

Abstract Number: 3014
Title: Efficacy proof-of-concept from a phase 1 study of a novel therapeutic peptide, ST101, targeting the oncogenic transcription factor C/EBPβ in patients with refractory solid tumors
Session Title/Track: Developmental Therapeutics – Molecularly Targeted Agents and Tumor Biology
Session Type: Poster Discussion Session
Date/Time: June 5, 2022, 2:30 PM CDT

Abstracts and full session details can be accessed through the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) meeting planner: Abstracts | ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting

About ST101 and the Phase 1-2 Study
ST101, a first-in-class antagonist of C/EBPβ, is currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 portion of an ongoing Phase 1-2 clinical study in patients with advanced unresectable and metastatic solid tumors (NCT04478279). ST101-101 is an open-label, two-part, Phase 1-2 dose-finding study designed to determine the safety, tolerability, PK, PD, and proof-of-concept efficacy of ST101 in patients with advanced solid tumors. The study consists of two phases: Phase 1 dose escalation/regimen exploration and Phase 2 expansion. In the ongoing dose escalation study, ST101 has demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept with a durable RECIST 1.1-confirmed partial response (PR) in a patient with cutaneous melanoma and evidence of long-lasting stable disease in several additional patients. In the ongoing Phase 2 dose expansion part of the study, ST101 has demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept with a confirmed partial response in a patient with recurrent GBM. Sapience is actively enrolling patients with GBM, metastatic cutaneous melanoma, locally advanced or metastatic hormone-receptor positive breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer. ST101 has been granted Fast Track designation for recurrent GBM and advanced cutaneous melanoma in patients who have disease progression on or after anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy, as well as orphan designations from the FDA for advanced melanoma, glioma and AML, and from the European Commission for the treatment of glioma.

On June 3, 2022 Naveris, Inc. reported the presentation of an abstract related to its flagship diagnostic test for TTMV-HPV DNA (NavDx) at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place from June 3 through June 7, 2022 in Chicago and virtually (Press release, Naveris, JUN 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234615533]).

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Results of TTMV-HPV DNA testing in the NRG-HN002 phase II clinical trial for patients with p16-positive oropharynx cancer treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), with or without cisplatin chemotherapy, will be shared in the presentation.

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Oral Presentation
Abstract: 6006
Title: Association of plasma tumor tissue modified viral HPV DNA (TTMV) with tumor burden, treatment type, and outcome: A translational analysis from NRG-HN002.
Presenter: Sue S. Yom, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair, Strategic Advisory, Department of Radiation Oncology; Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Univ. of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Presentation Session Date/Time: The oral presentation will take place on Friday, June 3, 2022 from 3:45 – 6:45 p.m. EDT, during the session titled "Head and Neck Cancer"
Location: In-Person & Live Stream | S406

Following the presentation, the data presented will be available on the Naveris website at View Source

On June 3, 2022 Arcellx, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLX), a biotechnology company reimagining cell therapy through the development of innovative immunotherapies for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases, reported new positive clinical data from the ongoing Phase 1 expansion study of its novel, autologous, CART-ddBCMA therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (Press release, Arcellx, JUN 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234615549]). The clinical results are being presented during an oral presentation at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

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Evaluable for efficacy and safety analysis were 31 patients, based on follow-up of at least one month, following treatment. These evaluable patients comprised the dose escalation cohorts for the first dose level (100 million CAR+ T cells, n=6), the second dose level (300 million CAR+T cells, n=6), and a dose expansion cohort at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) of 100 million CAR+T cells (n=19). All patients enrolled in the study have poor prognostic factors with 21 of 31 (68%) patients penta-refractory, 12 of 31 (39%) extramedullary disease (EMD), and all 31 patients having had at least three prior treatments.

The interim CART-ddBCMA clinical results (May 3, 2022 cutoff date) demonstrate deep and durable responses in patients with poor prognostic factors.

Of the 31 evaluable patients with median follow-up of 12.1 months
100% overall response rate (ORR) achieved in all patients per International Myeloma Working Group criteria
22 of 31 (71%) evaluable patients achieved complete response (CR) or a stringent complete response (sCR)
29 of 31 (94%) patients achieved > very good partial response (VGPR)
2 of 31 (6%) patients achieved a partial response (PR)
12 of 31 (39%) with extramedullary disease
13 of 16 patients (81%) dosed more than 12 months ago reached CR/sCR; 8 (50%) with EMD; 9 (56%) remain in ongoing response with a median follow up of 17.7 months
Conversions to sCR have occurred as early as 1 month and also at ≥12 months
CART-ddBCMA dosed at RP2D (100 million CAR+T cells) continues to be well-tolerated
Toxicities including CRS and ICANS have been manageable, and all resolved with standard management at both dose levels
No cases of delayed neurotoxicity events or parkinsonian symptoms
No cases of grade 3 (or greater) CRS and only one case (4%) of grade 3 ICANS event with no additional cases from previously reported.
Matthew J. Frigault, M.D., CART-ddBCMA study investigator and Assistant Director of the Cellular Therapy Service at Mass General Cancer Center and Instructor at Harvard Medical School said, "The demand for clinically meaningful and safe CAR-T therapies outweighs what’s currently available to multiple myeloma patients. It is encouraging to see these data continue to demonstrate deep responses and provide a benefit to patients. I look forward to enrolling patients in the Phase 2 pivotal study."

"We’re excited by these long-term results, particularly given the challenging patient demographics, and believe these promising results reflect the potential for our lead program, CART-ddBCMA, to be a best-in-class treatment for patients with multiple myeloma," said Rami Elghandour, Arcellx’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe there’s a significant unmet need for cell therapies and we’re committed to providing physicians with a safe and effective treatment option for multiple myeloma patients. We’re honored to have our data presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) by Dr. Frigault and look forward to beginning enrollment in our Phase 2 pivotal study by the end of this year as the next step in the path towards regulatory approval."

The presentation can be accessed on the company’s corporate website here.

Oral Presentation Details:
Title: Phase 1 Study of CART-ddBCMA in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Speaker: Matthew J. Frigault, M.D., Assistant Director of the Cellular Therapy Service at Mass General Cancer Center, and Instructor at Harvard Medical School
Session Type/Title: Oral Abstract Session/Hematologic Malignancies—Plasma Cell Dyscrasia
Session Date: Sunday, June 5, 2022
Session Time: 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. CDT
Location: McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois
Abstract Number: 8003

Webcast Event:
Arcellx will host a live webcast event with an expert panel of clinicians to discuss the clinical results on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. CDT. The event will be accessible from Arcellx’s website at www.arcellx.com in the Investors section. A replay of the webcast will be archived and available for 30 days following the event.

About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a type of hematological cancer in which diseased plasma cells proliferate and accumulate in the bone marrow, crowding out healthy blood cells and causing bone lesions, loss of bone density, and bone fractures. These abnormal plasma cells also produce excessive quantities of an abnormal immunoglobulin fragment, called a myeloma protein (M protein), causing kidney damage and impairing the patient’s immune function. Multiple myeloma is the third most common hematological malignancy in the United States and Europe, representing approximately 10% of all hematological cancer cases and 20% of deaths due to hematological malignancies. The median age of patients at diagnosis is 69 years with one-third of patients diagnosed at an age of at least 75 years. Because MM tends to afflict patients at an advanced stage of life, patients often have multiple co-morbidities and toxicities that can quickly escalate and become life-endangering.

About CART-ddBCMA
CART-ddBCMA is Arcellx’s BCMA-specific CAR-modified T-cell therapy utilizing the company’s novel BCMA-targeting binding domain for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. CART-ddBCMA is currently in a Phase 1 study. Arcellx’s proprietary binding domains are novel synthetic proteins designed to bind specific therapeutic targets. CART-ddBCMA has been granted Fast Track, Orphan Drug, and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

On June 3, 2022 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) reported that it will attend the Goldman Sachs 43rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 (Press release, Eli Lilly, JUN 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234615502]). Anne White, senior vice president and president, Lilly Neuroscience, and Mark Mintun, senior vice president, research and development – neuroscience and president, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, will participate in a fireside chat at 1:40 p.m., Eastern time .

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A live audio webcast will be available on the "Webcasts & Presentations" section of Lilly’s Investor website at View Source A replay of the presentation will be available on this same website for approximately 90 days.

On June 3, 2022 OncXerna Therapeutics, Inc. ("OncXerna"), a precision medicine company using an innovative RNA-expression based biomarker platform to predict patient responses to its targeted oncology therapeutic candidates, reported new clinical data from an investigator-sponsored Phase 2 trial evaluating bavituximab combined with chemoradiation and adjuvant temozolomide in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) patients (Press release, OncXerna Therapeutics, JUN 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234615518]). The data, which show that the trial met its primary endpoint, will be featured in a poster at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place both virtually and in-person at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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Bavituximab is a potentially first-in-class phosphatidylserine (PS) inhibitor designed to reverse immune suppression. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program (ORP)-funded Phase 2 investigator-sponsored trial that will be featured in the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) poster was an open-label, single-arm study in newly diagnosed IDH wild-type GBM patients that was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bavituximab combined with chemoradiation and adjuvant temozolomide. Per the trial protocol, success on the primary endpoint was defined as a twelve-month overall survival rate (OS-12) of greater than or equal to 72% in evaluable patients.

"Novel approaches are needed to treat GBM, as the current standard-of-care of chemoradiation and temozolomide has historically provided an OS-12 of only 60%," said Elizabeth Gerstner, M.D., Mass General Cancer Center, the study’s lead investigator. "The Phase 2 results being presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) suggest bavituximab modulates the immunosuppressive GBM microenvironment, demonstrating its on-target effects. The OS-12 of evaluable patients exceeded both the study’s pre-specified criteria and the historical benchmark. Improved survival also correlated with positive changes in tumor immune cell gene expression and reductions in cerebral blood flow, which indicates that bavituximab was a contributor to treatment response and supports continued clinical evaluation in GBM."

Key data and conclusions from the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) poster include:

Efficacy data in evaluable patients (N = 33, median age of 59)

OS-12: 73% (95% confidence interval: 59% – 90%)
Median progression-free survival (PFS): 6.9 months (95% confidence interval: 6.2 – 9.7 months)
Median overall survival (OS): 15.4 months (95% confidence interval: 13.3 – 23.6 months)
Disease control rate: 91% (30/33)
Overall response rate: 12% (4/33)
Safety findings:

The studied combination was generally well tolerated. There were eight grade 3 or 4 adverse events (AEs) and no grade 5 AEs observed.
Immune profile and MRI assessments:

A statistically significant reduction of pro-tumor, immunosuppressive, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) was observed post-treatment
Tumor samples from patients with longer PFS and OS showed a significantly positive shift in myeloid-related gene expression
The studied combination was shown to have anti-angiogenic effects as evidenced by a post-treatment decrease in relative cerebral blood flow
Laura Benjamin, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OncXerna Therapeutics, commented, "Confirming the on-target effect of bavituximab in modulating the GBM immune microenvironment is a significant finding that suggests combining bavituximab with an immune checkpoint inhibitor is a reasonable potential next step in its development. Incorporating our Xerna TME panel prospectively in a future study may further enable us to understand which patients would most likely benefit from this treatment approach as well as bavituximab’s potential to significantly improve outcomes in a setting where new treatment options are desperately needed. We look forward to discussing these latest Phase 2 data with key thought leaders as we assess next steps for bavituximab in GBM."

The Xerna TME Panel is OncXerna’s novel RNA gene expression-based diagnostic panel. It uses a machine learning-based algorithm to classify patients based on the interplay between angiogenic and immunogenic dominant biologies of the tumor microenvironment (TME). By utilizing the Xerna TME Panel, OncXerna aims to match a specific patient’s tumor with the drugs best suited to treat that tumor.

The ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) poster (# 368), entitled, Phase 2 Trial of Bavituximab with Chemoradiation and Adjuvant Temozolomide in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma, will be presented during the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting’s "Central Nervous System Tumors" poster session, which is taking place on June 5, 2022, beginning at 8:00 a.m. CT (9:00 a.m. ET). Following its presentation at the conference, a copy of the poster will be available on the OncXerna website here.

About the Phase 2 Trial

This study is one of three investigator-sponsored studies funded through a collaboration between the NCCN ORP and OncXerna Therapeutics. The investigator-sponsored study was led by Elizabeth Gerstner, M.D., Mass General Cancer Center. The Phase 2 trial was an open-label, single-arm study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bavituximab with chemoradiation and adjuvant temozolomide in adult patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The trial included 33 evaluable patients who were treated with bavituximab weekly, temozolomide daily, and chemoradiotherapy in accordance with hospital guidance. The primary endpoint of the trial was OS-12, with the trial’s pre-specified statistical analysis plan indicating an OS-12 greater than or equal to 72% would result in the null hypothesis being rejected. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival, overall survival, radiographic response, and toxicity assessments. Exploratory assessments evaluated the immune profile in tumor tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells with treatment and the impact of treatment on relative cerebral flood flow. For more information, see ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03139916.

About Bavituximab

Bavituximab is an antibody designed to reverse immune suppression by inhibiting phosphatidylserine (PS) signaling. The mechanism of action of bavituximab is to block tumor immune suppression signaling from PS to multiple immune cell receptor families (e.g., TIMs and TAMs). This biology is relevant across multiple types of solid tumors. A Phase 2 clinical trial is evaluating the combination of bavituximab with KEYTRUDA to test the hypothesis that relieving immunosuppression can enhance responses to checkpoint inhibitors. Bavituximab is an investigational agent that has not been approved, and it has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use, including for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.

About the Xerna TME Panel

The Xerna TME Panel uses proprietary RNA-based gene expression data and a machine learning-based algorithm to classify patients based on the interplay between angiogenic and immunogenic dominant biologies of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The Xerna TME Panel is an investigational assay that has not been approved and has not been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use.