Gilead’s Bold Ambition of Transforming Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment to Be Highlighted With New Data at SABCS

On November 29, 2021 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) reported that it will present additional data from the Phase 3 ASCENT study of Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) during the upcoming San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) being held from December 7-10 (Press release, Gilead Sciences, NOV 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234596205]). These data reinforce the benefits of Trodelvy and the importance of Gilead’s transformative science in cancers with high unmet need. In the United States, Trodelvy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

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

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Our data at SABCS add to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of Trodelvy for people with metastatic TNBC," said Merdad Parsey, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Gilead Sciences. "We continue to advance the treatment of TNBC and are actively exploring the potential of Trodelvy across the breast cancer landscape."

Highlights at the meeting include an ASCENT analysis examining outcomes for Black patients with metastatic TNBC who were treated with Trodelvy compared to those receiving physician’s choice of chemotherapy. Additional ASCENT analyses will explore health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures by clinical response and post-progression treatment and survival of patients who experienced continued disease progression.

Accepted abstracts are as follows:

Assessment of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Black Patients from the Phase 3 ASCENT Study in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Poster #P5-16-07)
Post-Progression Therapy Outcomes in Patients from the Phase 3 ASCENT Study of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Poster # P5-16-15)
Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life by Clinical Response from the Phase 3 ASCENT Study in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Poster #P5-16-01)
The presentations will be made available in-person and on-demand as part of Poster Session 5 beginning Friday, December 10 at 7:00 a.m. CT.

For more information, including a complete list of abstract titles at the meeting, please visit: View Source

The Trodelvy U.S. Prescribing Information has a BOXED WARNING for severe or life-threatening neutropenia and severe diarrhea; see below for Important Safety Information.

About Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)

TNBC is the most aggressive type of breast cancer and accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancers. TNBC is diagnosed more frequently in younger and premenopausal women and is more prevalent in Black and Hispanic women. TNBC cells do not have estrogen and progesterone receptors and have limited human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Due to the nature of TNBC, effective treatment options are extremely limited compared with other breast cancer types. TNBC has a higher chance of recurrence and metastases than other breast cancer types. The average time to metastatic recurrence for TNBC is approximately 2.6 years compared with 5 years for other breast cancers, and the relative five-year survival rate is much lower. Among women with metastatic TNBC, the five-year survival rate is 12%, compared with 28% for those with other types of metastatic breast cancer.

About Trodelvy

Trodelvy is a first-in-class antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor conjugate directed to the Trop-2 receptor, a protein overexpressed in multiple types of epithelial tumors, including metastatic TNBC and metastatic urothelial cancer (UC), where high expression is associated with poor survival and relapse. Trodelvy is approved for adults with metastatic TNBC in the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and Switzerland. Trodelvy is also under multiple regulatory reviews worldwide, including in Singapore and China through our partner Everest Medicines. Trodelvy continues to be developed for potential use in other TNBC and metastatic UC populations and is also being developed as an investigational treatment for hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) metastatic breast cancer and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Additional evaluation across multiple solid tumors is also underway.

In the United States, Trodelvy is indicated for the treatment of:

Adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease.
Adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC who have previously received a platinum-containing chemotherapy and either programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor.
U.S. Important Safety Information for Trodelvy

BOXED WARNING: NEUTROPENIA AND DIARRHEA

Severe or life-threatening neutropenia may occur. Withhold Trodelvy for absolute neutrophil count below 1500/mm3 or neutropenic fever. Monitor blood cell counts periodically during treatment. Consider G-CSF for secondary prophylaxis. Initiate anti-infective treatment in patients with febrile neutropenia without delay.
Severe diarrhea may occur. Monitor patients with diarrhea and give fluid and electrolytes as needed. Administer atropine, if not contraindicated, for early diarrhea of any severity. At the onset of late diarrhea, evaluate for infectious causes and, if negative, promptly initiate loperamide. If severe diarrhea occurs, withhold Trodelvy until resolved to ≤Grade 1 and reduce subsequent doses.
CONTRAINDICATIONS

Severe hypersensitivity reaction to Trodelvy.
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Neutropenia: Severe, life-threatening, or fatal neutropenia can occur and may require dose modification. Neutropenia occurred in 61% of patients treated with Trodelvy. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 47% of patients. Febrile neutropenia occurred in 7%. Withhold Trodelvy for absolute neutrophil count below 1500/mm3 on Day 1 of any cycle or neutrophil count below 1000/mm3 on Day 8 of any cycle. Withhold Trodelvy for neutropenic fever.

Diarrhea: Diarrhea occurred in 65% of all patients treated with Trodelvy. Grade 3-4 diarrhea occurred in 12% of patients. One patient had intestinal perforation following diarrhea. Neutropenic colitis occurred in 0.5% of patients. Withhold Trodelvy for Grade 3-4 diarrhea and resume when resolved to ≤Grade 1. At onset, evaluate for infectious causes and if negative, promptly initiate loperamide, 4 mg initially followed by 2 mg with every episode of diarrhea for a maximum of 16 mg daily. Discontinue loperamide 12 hours after diarrhea resolves. Additional supportive measures (e.g., fluid and electrolyte substitution) may also be employed as clinically indicated. Patients who exhibit an excessive cholinergic response to treatment can receive appropriate premedication (e.g., atropine) for subsequent treatments.

Hypersensitivity and Infusion-Related Reactions: Serious hypersensitivity reactions including life-threatening anaphylactic reactions have occurred with Trodelvy. Severe signs and symptoms included cardiac arrest, hypotension, wheezing, angioedema, swelling, pneumonitis, and skin reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions within 24 hours of dosing occurred in 37% of patients. Grade 3-4 hypersensitivity occurred in 2% of patients. The incidence of hypersensitivity reactions leading to permanent discontinuation of Trodelvy was 0.3%. The incidence of anaphylactic reactions was 0.3%. Pre-infusion medication is recommended. Observe patients closely for hypersensitivity and infusion-related reactions during each infusion and for at least 30 minutes after completion of each infusion. Medication to treat such reactions, as well as emergency equipment, should be available for immediate use. Permanently discontinue Trodelvy for Grade 4 infusion-related reactions.

Nausea and Vomiting: Nausea occurred in 66% of all patients treated with Trodelvy and Grade 3 nausea occurred in 4% of these patients. Vomiting occurred in 39% of patients and Grade 3-4 vomiting occurred in 3% of these patients. Premedicate with a two or three drug combination regimen (e.g., dexamethasone with either a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist or an NK1 receptor antagonist as well as other drugs as indicated) for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Withhold Trodelvy doses for Grade 3 nausea or Grade 3-4 vomiting and resume with additional supportive measures when resolved to Grade ≤1. Additional antiemetics and other supportive measures may also be employed as clinically indicated. All patients should be given take-home medications with clear instructions for prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting.

Increased Risk of Adverse Reactions in Patients with Reduced UGT1A1 Activity: Patients homozygous for the uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyl transferase 1A1 (UGT1A1)*28 allele are at increased risk for neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, and anemia and may be at increased risk for other adverse reactions with Trodelvy. The incidence of Grade 3-4 neutropenia was 67% in patients homozygous for the UGT1A1*28, 46% in patients heterozygous for the UGT1A1*28 allele and 46% in patients homozygous for the wild-type allele. The incidence of Grade 3-4 anemia was 25% in patients homozygous for the UGT1A1*28 allele, 10% in patients heterozygous for the UGT1A1*28 allele, and 11% in patients homozygous for the wild-type allele. Closely monitor patients with known reduced UGT1A1 activity for adverse reactions. Withhold or permanently discontinue Trodelvy based on clinical assessment of the onset, duration and severity of the observed adverse reactions in patients with evidence of acute early-onset or unusually severe adverse reactions, which may indicate reduced UGT1A1 function.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Based on its mechanism of action, Trodelvy can cause teratogenicity and/or embryo-fetal lethality when administered to a pregnant woman. Trodelvy contains a genotoxic component, SN-38, and targets rapidly dividing cells. Advise pregnant women and females of reproductive potential of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with Trodelvy and for 6 months after the last dose. Advise male patients with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with Trodelvy and for 3 months after the last dose.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

In the ASCENT study (IMMU-132-05), the most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥25%) were fatigue, neutropenia, diarrhea, nausea, alopecia, anemia, constipation, vomiting, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite. The most frequent serious adverse reactions (SAR) (>1%) were neutropenia (7%), diarrhea (4%), and pneumonia (3%). SAR were reported in 27% of patients, and 5% discontinued therapy due to adverse reactions. The most common Grade 3-4 lab abnormalities (incidence ≥25%) in the ASCENT study were reduced neutrophils, leukocytes, and lymphocytes.

In the TROPHY study (IMMU-132-06), the most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥25%) were diarrhea, fatigue, neutropenia, nausea, any infection, alopecia, anemia, decreased appetite, constipation, vomiting, abdominal pain, and rash. The most frequent serious adverse reactions (SAR) (≥5%) were infection (18%), neutropenia (12%, including febrile neutropenia in 10%), acute kidney injury (6%), urinary tract infection (6%), and sepsis or bacteremia (5%). SAR were reported in 44% of patients, and 10% discontinued due to adverse reactions. The most common Grade 3-4 lab abnormalities (incidence ≥25%) in the TROPHY study were reduced neutrophils, leukocytes, and lymphocytes.

DRUG INTERACTIONS

UGT1A1 Inhibitors: Concomitant administration of Trodelvy with inhibitors of UGT1A1 may increase the incidence of adverse reactions due to potential increase in systemic exposure to SN-38. Avoid administering UGT1A1 inhibitors with Trodelvy.

UGT1A1 Inducers: Exposure to SN-38 may be substantially reduced in patients concomitantly receiving UGT1A1 enzyme inducers. Avoid administering UGT1A1 inducers with Trodelvy.

Theralase Releases 3Q21 Financial Statements and Newsletter

On November 29, 2021 Theralase Technologies Inc. ("Theralase" or the "Company") (TSXV: TLT) (OTCQB: TLTFF), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light activated compounds and their associated drug formulations with a primary objective of efficacy and a secondary objective of safety in the destruction of various cancers, bacteria and viruses reported the Company’s unaudited 3Q2021 condensed interim consolidated Financial Statements ("Financial Statements"), which provides financial information on the previous fiscal quarter and the quarterly Newsletter ("Newsletter") which provides an interim clinical data analysis on the Phase II Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer ("NMIBC") clinical study ("Study II") (Press release, Theralase, NOV 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234597697]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

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

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The Financial Statements can be found on the Company’s Website at www.theralase.com/financial-filings/

The Newsletter can be found on the Company’s website at www.theralase.com/quarterly-newsletters/

Highlights from the Newsletter:

Leadership Transition

Effective October 25, 2021, Vera Madzarevic, Ph.D. assumed the role of Director of Clinical Development and Quality Assurance. Dr. Madzarevic holds a Ph.D. in both clinical pharmacology and biochemistry and brings over 25 years of global experience in clinical research and quality assurance from the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry to Theralase.

Effective, November 15, 2021, Mr. John Trikola agreed to resign from his positions as the Chief Operating Officer ("COO") and interim Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the Company, as a result of certain facts that came to the Company’s attention concerning Mr. Trikola’s background that the Company’s vetting process failed to detect. The Company has taken steps to improve its vetting process for incoming officers and directors.

Effective November 15, 2021, Arkady Mandel, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., who is currently the Chief Scientific Officer ("CSO") of the Company, assumed the role of interim CEO, replacing Mr. Trikola.
3Q21 Financial Statement Highlights

Total revenue increased 7%, year over year and is primarily attributed to a recovery in the Canadian and United States ("US") economies from the COVID-19 pandemic, as a majority of healthcare practitioners in 2020 elected to temporarily close their practices and place any purchasing decisions on temporary or permanent hold.

Net loss decreased 34%, year over year and is primarily attributed to the following:
1) Significant delay in patient enrollment and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in decreased research and development expenses in Study II.
2) Decreased salaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the resignation or termination of certain non-essential administrative, research and production personnel.

The Anti-Cancer Therapy ("ACT") division represented $2,325,340 of this loss (74%) for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.

12 CSS’s have been launched in Canada (5) and the US (7) for patient enrollment and treatment for Study II.
Study II Preliminary Results

As of November 29, 2021, Study II has enrolled and provided the primary study treatment for 30 patients (including three patients from the Study treated at the Therapeutic Dose) for a total of 33 patients, demonstrating the following interim results:

Note: Significant clinical data is still pending in Study II and drawing conclusions from this interim clinical data set and assumptions should be done with caution, as Study II is still ongoing and new clinical data collected may or may not continue to support the current trend.
An analysis of the Study II clinical data (with 3 patients from Study Ib) provides the following interim assessments:

1) 7/10 patients (70.0%), who achieved a CR at 90 days continue to demonstrate CR at 180 days

2) In the total population of 33 patients (@ 90 days):

i) 42.4% achieved Complete Response ("CR")
ii) 12.1% achieved Partial Response ("PR")
iii) 21.2% are Pending
iv) 24.2% achieved No Response ("NR")

Hence, the potential for CR is up to 75.8%** for the interim clinical data analysis.

Note**: Assumes both PR and Pending data are clinically determined to be CR at a later assessment date.

3) In the total population of 18 patients (@ 90 days), who received the optimized treatment:

i) 44.4% achieved CR
ii) 11.1% achieved PR
iii) 38.9% are Pending
iv) 5.6% achieved NR

Hence, the potential for CR is up to 94.4%***

Note***: Assumes both PR and Pending data are clinically determined to be CR at a later assessment date for the interim clinical data analysis.

In summary, for patients who received the primary optimized Study II Treatment versus the original Study II Treatment (90 days), there is a 5% increase in CR and a 77% decrease in NR.

Turnstone Biologics Announces Research Collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center to Advance Novel TIL Immunotherapies for Solid Tumor Indications

On November 29, 2021 Turnstone Biologics Corp., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of cancer immunotherapies, reported that it has entered into a strategic multi-year research collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center ("Moffitt") for pre-clinical development of investigational tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte ("TIL") therapies (Press release, Turnstone Biologics, NOV 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234596188]). The partnership will focus on new clinical candidates utilizing Turnstone’s next-generation selected TIL approach in multiple solid tumor types, in addition to IND submission of Turnstone’s lead TIL program, TIDAL-01.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

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

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Moffitt has established itself as a leader in the development of cutting-edge cell-based therapies," said Sammy Farah, Ph.D., MBA, President and CEO, Turnstone Biologics. "With Moffitt’s world leading researchers and unique capabilities to support translational research, we believe this collaboration will be crucial in bringing our transformative TIL therapies to people with cancer. We look forward to working closely with the team at Moffitt as we advance our innovative strategy in this field."

Under the terms of the agreement, Moffitt will collaborate on the development of Turnstone’s pipeline of selected TILs for the identification, enrichment and expansion of neoantigen reactive TILs in solid tumor indications, including melanoma, breast and colorectal cancers. Furthermore, Turnstone will transfer their proprietary TIL manufacturing process to Moffitt to produce cell products for upcoming clinical studies of Turnstone’s TIL product candidates. Turnstone will provide financial support for research and development at Moffitt over the multi-year collaboration.

"Turnstone’s strong commitment to support its novel TIL platform and pipeline aligns on Moffitt’s expertise and singular focus on developing truly life altering cancer treatments," said Shari Pilon-Thomas, Ph.D., Associate Member of the Immunology Department at Moffitt Cancer Center. "We are excited to collaborate with Turnstone to help propel the development of TIDAL-01 as well as progress investigation of multiple next-generation TIL immunotherapies with the potential to improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients."

Turnstone’s lead TIL therapy candidate, TIDAL-01, builds on the success of clinically validated treatment protocols while enriching for the most relevant T-cells for tumor eradication, preserving broad antigen diversity and minimizing time to treatment for patients, with the ultimate goal of extending the benefit of TIL therapy across a wider range of solid tumor types. Turnstone aims to drive clinical efficacy in harder to treat, lower mutational burden cancer indications with its TIL platform. The TIDAL-01 program is expected to enter the clinic in early 2022.

VYANT BIO TO PRESENT AT THE BENCHMARK COMPANY DISCOVERY ONE-ON-ONE INVESTOR CONFERENCE

On November 29, 2021 Vyant Bio, Inc. ("Vyant Bio", the "Company") (Nasdaq: VYNT), an emerging global drug discovery company, reported that it is rapidly identifying small and large molecule therapeutics to treat central nervous system (CNS) and oncology-related diseases (Press release, Vyant Bio, NOV 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234596206]). Today, Vyant Bio announced that it will be participating in The Benchmark Company Discovery One-on-One Investor Conference. The event is being held virtually on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

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

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Conference Date: December 2, 2021 (Thursday)
1:1 Availability: 8:00am-4pmET
Vyant Bio’s Chief Executive Officer, Jay Roberts, will be discussing key highlights from the Third Quarter 2021, the recent addition of Chief Scientific Officer – Dr. Robert Fremeau, and the business and strategic outlook for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.

If you are an investor and would like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Vyant Bio during the Discovery One-on-One Investor Conference, please contact your Benchmark representative.

Vyant Bio will also be available for virtual outside 1:1 meetings after The Benchmark Company Discovery One-on-One Investor Conference. Please contact Jennifer K. Zimmons, Ph.D. at [email protected] or +1 917.214.3514 for scheduling.

UCLB spinout, Quell Therapeutics, raises $156 million in Oversubscribed Series B Financing

On November 29, 2021 Quell Therapeutics (Quell) reported $156 million in oversubscribed Series B financing to advance its pioneering multi-modular engineered T Regulatory (Treg) cell therapy pipeline and platform (Press release, UCLB, NOV 29, 2021, View Source [SID1234596189]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

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

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The financing round was co-led by Jeito Capital, Ridgeback Capital Investments, SV Health Investors and Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from founding investor Syncona. New investors include British Patient Capital through its Future Fund: Breakthrough program, Janus Henderson Investors, Monashee Investment Management, Point72 and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC.

The biotechnology company and world leader in developing engineered (Treg) cell therapies, will use the proceeds raised to fund the clinical development of QEL-001 in liver transplantation, to accelerate development of its product pipeline across transplantation, neuroinflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and enhance its multi-modular engineered Treg platform and manufacturing footprint.

Quell builds on the expertise of leading academics within the Treg, cell engineering, solid organ transplantation and autoimmune disease fields from three world class institutions: UCL, Kings College London (KCL) and Hannover Medical School.

Formed in 2019 Quell provided the opportunity for UCL founders – Professors Hans Stauss and Emma Morris of the Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, to further develop their research and know-how, alongside counterparts at KCL and Hannover Medical School, in turn translating their expertise into medical impact.

"It’s fantastic to see Quell go from strength to strength as it moves a step closer towards generating real patient benefit through leading, cutting edge regulatory T cell expertise." Comments Barny Cox, the UCLB Senior Business Manager who supported Quell throughout its early formation. "Backed by this welcome injection of finance, I look forward to seeing the company grow, building upon its academic foundations as a fine example of the successful translation of pioneering, high-quality scientific research."