Gilead to Present New Data at ESMO Congress 2021 Reinforcing the Practice-changing Potential of Trodelvy

On September 13, 2021 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) reported the presentation of new research on its first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress 2021 from September 16–21, 2021 (Press release, Gilead Sciences, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587626]). These data highlight the value of Trodelvy in treating people with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and Gilead’s transformative science in cancers with high unmet need.

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"The data at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) reinforce how Trodelvy is redefining the standard of care for people with metastatic TNBC, a disease that is too often associated with poor outcomes and decreased quality of life," said Merdad Parsey, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Gilead Sciences. "We continue to explore the potential of Trodelvy across multiple advanced solid tumors, with the aim of bringing much-needed, new treatment options to people with cancer."

Highlights at the meeting include new data from the landmark Phase 3 ASCENT study of Trodelvy versus single-agent chemotherapy in patients with metastatic TNBC. The analyses examine health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures and the efficacy of Trodelvy in TNBC patients who did not have an original TNBC diagnosis. Data exploring the efficacy of Trodelvy by Trop-2 expression in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) will also be presented.

Accepted abstracts are as follows:

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in the ASCENT Study of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Poster #257P)
Analysis of Patients Without an Initial Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Diagnosis in the Phase 3 ASCENT Study of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Brain Metastases-Negative Metastatic TNBC (Poster #258P)
Phase 3 Post-neoadjuvant Study Evaluating Sacituzumab Govitecan, an Antibody Drug Conjugate in Primary HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Patients with High Relapse Risk after Standard Neoadjuvant Treatment: SASCIA (Poster #199TiP)
Efficacy of Sacituzumab Govitecan by Trophoblast Cell Surface Antigen 2 (Trop-2) Expression in Patients with Metastatic Urothelial Cancer (Poster #700P)
Phase 1/2 Study of Ipilimumab plus Nivolumab Combined with Sacituzumab Govitecan in Patients with Metastatic Cisplatin-Ineligible Urothelial Carcinoma (Poster #720TiP)
All e-poster presentations will be made available to those registered for the congress beginning Thursday, September 16 at 08:30 CEST (Wednesday, September 15 at 23:30 PDT).

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 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 HER2. Due to the nature of TNBC, 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 Urothelial Cancer

UC is the most common type of bladder cancer and occurs when the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract grow unusually or uncontrollably. An estimated 83,000 Americans will be diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2021, and almost 90% of those diagnoses will be UC. The relative five-year survival rate for patients with metastatic UC is 5.5%.

About Trodelvy

Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) 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 UC, where high expression is associated with poor survival and relapse. Beyond the approvals of Trodelvy in the United States, it is also approved in Australia, Switzerland, and the UK for adults with metastatic TNBC. Trodelvy is also under regulatory review in the EU and Canada, as well as in Singapore through our partner Everest Medicines. Trodelvy is also being investigated as a potential treatment for hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative 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.

AnchorDx Develops New Liquid Biopsy Diagnostic Model for Early Detection of Breast Cancer

On September 13, 2021 AnchorDx, a world-leading developer of cancer screening and early detection solutions, together with renowned experts from a top-tier hospital in China, reported an article entitled "Circulating cell-free DNA-based methylation patterns for breast cancer diagnosis" in well-known journal, npj Breast Cancer (Press release, AnchorDx, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587642]). The new diagnostic model is based on circulating cell-free DNA-based (cfDNA) methylation patterns. It can serve as a reliable approach for the early diagnosis of breast cancer and is expected to compensate for the deficiency of mammography.

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Mammography-based screening (an X-ray picture of the breast) has contributed to a reduction in breast cancer mortality. However, younger women have lower mammographic sensitivity, especially Asian women, who tend to have a higher density of breast tissue. Therefore, novel and accurate detection methods in early breast cancer diagnosis are needed.

In order to compensate for the defects of mammography, AnchorDx conducted cfDNA methylation profiling to develop and validate a liquid biopsy-based breast cancer diagnostic test. They derived a specific panel of markers based on computational analysis of the DNA methylation profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Through training (n=160) and validation set (n=69), they developed a diagnostic prediction model with 26 markers. The model yielded a sensitivity of 94.79% and a specificity of 98.70% for differentiating malignant disease from normal lesions (AUROC = 0.9815, and AUPRC = 0.9800), and had better diagnostic power than that of using mammography (AUROC = 0.9315, and AUPRC = 0.9490). As a result, the cfDNA methylation model for breast cancer diagnosis showed increased performance over mammography.

As a leading biotechnology company developing high-throughput methylation sequencing of ctDNA for early cancer diagnosis, AnchorDx will collect more case and testing data for validating the model. The hope is this model will help lower breast cancer risk, especially for women who are at high risk in China in the near future.

Scientist of the Year awarded $2.9m to help six million Australians

On September 13, 2021 South Australian Scientist of the Year, UniSA Professor Sharad Kumar, reported that i has been awarded $2.9 million to help improve the lives of approximately six million Australians (Press release, University of South Australia, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587677]).

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That’s the number of people collectively diagnosed with heart disease, cancer, and chronic kidney disease each year, 100,000 of whom will lose their health battle by year’s end.

Prof Kumar AO will use the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Federal Government funding to lead a five-year project to help prevent and develop new treatments for these diseases and others.

His team at UniSA and SA Pathology’s Centre for Cancer Biology has made significant progress in recent years to understand the role that specific cells play in serious health conditions, and this grant will continue that work.

The project will focus on the biochemical processes of a protein called ubiquitin to regulate the body and why it breaks down sometimes, leading to a range of diseases.

Prof Kumar’s project is one of 254 NHMRC Investigator Grants announced today, totalling $400 million, to support hundreds of research leaders and teams around the country.

Novartis announces first FDA filing acceptance for anti-PD-1 antibody tislelizumab for people with esophageal cancer

On September 13, 2021 Novartis reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab for the treatment of unresectable recurrent locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in people who had received prior systemic therapy (Press release, Novartis, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587579]).

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"This is an encouraging step forward in our mission to deliver transformative therapies for people living with cancer, and especially for people with esophageal cancer, an aggressive disease with limited treatment options," said Jeff Legos, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Oncology & Hematology Development. "We are advancing tislelizumab as a key cornerstone of our immunotherapy program and PD-1 backbone for combination therapy. We will work with regulatory authorities to ensure it is available for people with esophageal cancer as soon as possible."

Tislelizumab is a humanized IgG4 anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody being developed both as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies.4 The BLA submission was based on data from the Phase III RATIONALE 302 trial, which demonstrated a 30% reduction in the risk of death (HR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.57-0.85, p=0.0001) and extended median overall survival by 2.3 months compared to chemotherapy in people with unresectable recurrent locally advanced or metastatic ESCC who had received prior systemic therapy.1

About Esophageal Cancer
ESCC is the most common type of esophageal cancer globally and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.2 There are approximately 17,000 people living with ESCC in the United States and in 2021, and it is estimated that there will be 19,000 new esophageal cancer cases diagnosed and more than 15,000 deaths from esophageal cancer.3,5 Globally, in 2020, there were more than 604,000 new cases of esophageal cancer and 544,000 deaths from esophageal cancer.2 More than two-thirds of people with ESCC have advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis.6 The five-year survival rate for esophageal cancer is 19.9%, and the five-year survival rate for metastatic disease is even lower at 5.2%.3

About Tislelizumab
Tislelizumab is a humanized IgG4 anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody specifically designed to minimize binding to FcγR on macrophages. In pre-clinical studies, binding to FcγR on macrophages has been shown to compromise the anti-tumor activity of PD-1 antibodies through activation of antibody-dependent macrophage-mediated killing of T effector cells. The clinical impact of these features is not yet known.4

BeiGene filed the BLA on behalf of Novartis in the United States for tislelizumab for the treatment of unresectable recurrent locally advanced or metastatic ESCC in people who had received prior systemic therapy. In an agreement finalized earlier this year, BeiGene granted Novartis rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize tislelizumab in North America, Europe, and Japan through a collaboration and license agreement.

Dr. Henry Ji, Sorrento Chairman and CEO, to Participate at the H.C. Wainwright 23rd Annual Global Investment Conference September 13-15, 2021

On September 13, 2021 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, "Sorrento"), reported that Dr. Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO, will participate in the H.C. Wainwright 23rd Global Investment Conference (www.hcwevents.com/annualconference) (Press release, Sorrento Therapeutics, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587594]). The conference is being held virtually on September 13-15, 2021.

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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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Dr. Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO of Sorrento, will provide corporate updates and highlights associated with Sorrento’s product pipeline in the strategic focus areas of the company: COVID-19, Cancer and Autoimmune Therapeutics, and Non-Opioid Pain Management.

COVID-19 Product Portfolio Highlights:

COVISTIX: COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Detection Test in commercialization in Mexico with an EUA from COFEPRIS. Regulatory approval processes in progress in the US, Canada, Brazil, and WHO EUL (Emergency Use Listing), with active partnering discussions for global commercialization.
COVIDROPS (STI-2099): Intranasal neutralizing antibody (nAb) formulation in Phase 2 trials in UK, US and soon in Mexico for newly diagnosed COVID patients in an outpatient setting.
COVI-AMG (STI-2020): Potentially highly potent/low dose antibody in a 2 minute IV-push in Phase 2 trials for systemic treatment in an outpatient setting.
COVISHIELD antibody (STI-9167): Demonstrating potent in vitro virus neutralization across all currently known variants of concern (VoCs) and reducing replicating virus in the lungs of infected transgenic K18 mice (with human ACE2 receptor) to undetectable levels (following infection by SARS-CoV-2 WA-1 strain or VoCs including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Lambda).
MPI-8 and its SAR-Improved Analog (1121): Small molecule antiviral targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease, demonstrating broad-spectrum, potent antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 and all currently known VoCs.
Multivalent mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine: Elicited a stronger humoral immune response against Delta VoC as compared to SARS-CoV-2 intramuscular mRNA vaccine in preclinical studies.
Recombinant RBD Subunit Vaccine: Demonstrated strong humoral immune response against WA-1 and Delta VoC in preclinical studies.
Abivertinib: Phase 2 studies for treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in hospitalized COVID patients in US (96 Pts) and Brazil (400 Pts) are completed.
COVI-MSC: Phase 2 for ARDS in ICU COVID patients are ongoing in US and Brazil.
Cancer and Autoimmune Product Portfolio Highlights:

Abivertinib: Phase 3 topline data in NSCLC available Q4 2021.
Abivertinib: IND for Phase 2 in Prostate Cancer to be filed Q4 2021.
PD-L1 antibody: In Phase 3 for SCLC and NDA submission in China for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.
CD38 ADC: In Phase 1 for Amyloidosis and Multiple Myeloma.
CD38 DAR-T: In Phase 1 for Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma.
CD47 antibody: In Phase 1 in solid tumors.
SOFUSA: Lymphatic delivery of Enbrel in Phase 1b in refractory rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Non-Opioid Pain Management Product Portfolio Highlights:

ZTlido: Commercial with strong sales growth and expanded coverage for up to 65% of lives nationally.
SP-102: Phase 3/pivotal trial (US) completed full enrollment.
Resiniferatoxin (RTX): In Phase 2 for Osteoarthritis pain management.
RTX: In Phase 2 trial for intractable cancer pain (pending FDA clearance).
An updated corporate presentation will also be available at www.sorrentotherapeutics.com