On June 5, 2021 Samsung Pharm Co., Ltd. reported that the company presented the results of a phase III clinical trial of its pancreatic cancer immunotherapeutic drug candidate called ‘RIAVAX (GV1001)’ conducted in Korea at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual meeting (Press release, GemVax, JUN 5, 2021, View Source;gemvax-present-pancreatic-cancer-immunotherapeutic-drug-riavax-phase-iii-results-at-asco-2021-301306066.html [SID1234583623]).

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ASCO 2021, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, runs from June 4th to June 8th and will be held virtually due to COVID-19. Some 4500 experts in the field gather every year to share and discuss the results of leading clinical research and advance cancer research and development.

‘RIAVAX ( GV1001)’ is a peptide drug derived from human telomerase consisting of 16 amino acids. It has been developed as an immunotherapeutic drug for pancreatic cancer which works to activate immune cells to attack the cancer cells. It is known to extend survival in pancreatic cancer patients with high serum eotaxin levels when administered in combination with the current chemotherapy, Gemcitabine/Capecitabine.

The RIAVAX Phase III clinical trial was conducted to investigate safety and efficacy when given in combination with Gemcitabine/Capecitabine in 148 patients with locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer at 16 hospitals across Korea, including the Severance Hospital.

The results of the clinical trial showed median overall survival (OS) of 11.3 months in the treatment group compared to 7.5 months in the control group, with statistically significant improvement (p=0.021). Another key endpoint which is time to tumor progression (TTP) also showed a statistical significance with 7.3 months in the treatment group compared with 4.5 months in the control group (p=0.021). No specific safety issues were reported. These results indicate that RIAVAX should be considered as one of the treatment options for patients with locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer with high serum eotaxin levels.

Samsung Pharm in-licensed domestic rights to RIAVAX from its affiliate, GemVax & KAEL Co., Ltd. in 2014. GemVax & KAEL conducted a large-scale Phase III clinical trial of RIAVAX (‘TeloVac’) in the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2011, with 1,062 locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. The results of the TeloVac study were presented at 2013 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) followed by the presentation an analysis of the correlation between the high eotaxin level and improved survivals in pancreatic cancer patients administered with GV1001 at 2014 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper).

On June 4, 2021 Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BOLT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new class of immuno-oncology agents that combine the targeting precision of antibodies with the power of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, reported that a poster presentation discussing preliminary data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of BDC-1001, Bolt’s lead candidate, was presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, being held virtually from June 4-8, 2021 (Press release, Bolt Biotherapeutics, JUN 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234618696]). The poster is titled "Preliminary results from a phase 1/2 study of BDC-1001, a novel HER2 targeting TLR7/8 immune-stimulating antibody conjugate (ISAC), in patients (pts) with advanced HER2-expressing solid tumors."

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BDC-1001 is a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, ISAC comprised of a HER2-targeting biosimilar of trastuzumab conjugated to one of Bolt’s proprietary TLR7/8 agonists, for the treatment of patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors, including HER2-low tumors. As of January 29, 2021, Bolt had treated 20 patients and BDC-1001 appeared to be well tolerated with mild to moderate adverse events; no dose-limiting toxicities or drug-related serious adverse events were observed. Clinical activity was seen in the form of stable disease, reductions in tumor volume including a confirmed partial response and increases in pharmacodynamic markers that Bolt believes are consistent with its proposed mechanism of action.

"This poster reinforces the favorable safety and tolerability demonstrated in the first 20 patients treated with BDC-1001 in this first-in-human study in patients with HER2-expressing cancers," said Manish R. Sharma, M.D., of START Midwest, a principal investigator in Bolt’s ongoing BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 trial. "We have seen signs of activity, including a patient with a confirmed partial response and others with stable disease, in a population with diverse tumor types and a median of four prior lines of therapy."

The BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 trial is expected to enroll up to a total of 390 patients and is being conducted in four parts, with dose-escalation dose-expansion parts exploring both monotherapy and combination with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor. The monotherapy dose-escalation part of the trial continues to proceed according to plan, and full results are expected to be presented in the second half of 2021. Bolt plans to advance to the monotherapy Phase 2 dose-expansion cohorts and the dose-escalation combining BDC-1001 with an anti-PD-1 antibody later this year.

"I am grateful to everyone on the team for their hard work throughout this trial, especially during the pandemic," said Ecaterina Dumbrava, M.D., of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a principal investigator of the BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 trial. "These initial data provide additional support for the ISAC targeted approach that stimulates both the innate and adaptive immune systems in the treatment of cancer patients."

The abstract and poster from the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) presentation can be found on the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) website, as well as on the Bolt website.

About Bolt Biotherapeutics’ Immune-stimulating Antibody Conjugate (ISAC) Platform Technology
The Boltbody ISAC platform technology harnesses the ability of innate immune agonists to convert cold tumors into immunologically hot tumors, thereby illuminating tumors to the immune system and allowing them to be invaded by tumor-killing cells. Boltbody ISACs have demonstrated the ability to eliminate tumors following systemic administration as monotherapy in preclinical models and have also led to the development of immunological memory, which is predicted to translate into more durable clinical responses for patients.

About the Ongoing BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 Study in Patients with HER2-Expressing Solid Tumors
The Phase 1/2, multi-center, open-label study is evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and proof of mechanism of BDC-1001 in patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors. The first portion of the study includes a monotherapy dose-escalation phase in which cohorts of patients will receive ascending intravenous doses of BDC-1001 to determine the maximum tolerated dose and/or the recommended dose to advance into expansion cohorts and Phase 2 based on safety and tolerability. The second portion of the study is a dose expansion phase in which patients will receive BDC-1001 monotherapy to further evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical antitumor activity of the recommended Phase 2 dose. The study also includes similar dose escalation and expansion portions evaluating the combination of BDC-1001 with an anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitor. Please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT04278144 for additional clinical trial information.

On June 4, 2021 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, reported two trial in progress posters, on the Phase 1 INNATE clinical trial and the Phase 2 SELECT clinical trial, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, JUN 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234583507]). INNATE, a proof-of-concept (POC) trial, is evaluating Jounce’s lead macrophage program JTX-8064 (anti-LILRB2/ILT4 inhibitor) as a monotherapy and in combination with pimivalimab (anti-PD-1 inhibitor, formerly known as JTX-4014) in patients with a variety of advanced solid tumors. SELECT, Jounce’s second POC trial, is evaluating pimivalimab as a monotherapy and in combination with vopratelimab (ICOS agonist) in a novel biomarker selection paradigm in PD-(L)1 naïve non-small cell lung cancer patients.

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"Our INNATE trial is rapidly progressing through dose escalation and we are on-track to begin indication-specific, POC, monotherapy and pimivalimab combination expansion cohorts in the second half of this year," said Elizabeth Trehu, M.D., chief medical officer of Jounce Therapeutics. "Furthermore, we are excited to announce the expansion cohort indications for INNATE, which were selected using our translational data-driven approach, linking JTX-8064’s mechanism to tumor types in three groups of patients including: PD-(L)1 inhibitor experienced and resistant, PD-(L)1 inhibitor naïve and historically resistant, and PD-(L)1 inhibitor and historically more sensitive. JTX-8064 is one of only two clinical-stage LILRB2 programs in development and we expect it to be the first program to initiate expansion cohorts in four of our chosen tumor types. We are also pleased to see TISvopra positivity rates tracking with expectations in our biomarker selection trial, SELECT, and we remain on-track to report data next year."

Poster Presentation Details:

Poster Title: Phase 1, First-in-Human trial of JTX-8064, an anti-LILRB2/ILT4 monoclonal antibody, as monotherapy and in combination with anti-PD-1 in adult patients with advanced solid (INNATE)
Presenter: Kyriakos P. Papadopoulos, MD, South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START), San Antonio, TX
Session Title: Developmental Therapeutics – Immunotherapy
Abstract Number: TPS2672
Date and Time: Friday, June 4, 2021; 9:00am ET
Highlights from the trial in progress poster include the selection criteria for expansion cohorts in the ongoing Phase 1 INNATE trial and an outline the future biomarker plan:

Expansion cohort selection was informed using human histoculture and gene signature analysis from Jounce’s Translational Science Platform and includes PD-(L)1 naïve and experienced patients as well as PD-(L)1 sensitive and resistant tumor types.
The INNATE trial is divided into 4 stages with indication-specific expansion cohorts intended to establish proof-of-concept for JTX-8064:
JTX-8064 monotherapy dose escalation in relapsed / refractory solid tumors
JTX-8064 plus pimivalimab dose escalation in relapsed / refractory solid tumors
JTX-8064 monotherapy expansion in PD-(L)1i naïve platinum resistant ovarian cancer
JTX-8064 plus pimivalimab expansions in:
PD-(L)1i naïve platinum resistant ovarian cancer
PD-(L)1i naïve head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
PD-(L)1i naïve undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and liposarcoma (LPS)
PD-(L)1i experienced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
PD-(L)1i experienced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)
PD-(L)1i experienced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
PD-(L)1i experienced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).
The dose for expansion cohorts will be selected based on safety, pharmacokinetic and receptor occupancy data from the monotherapy dose escalation stage of INNATE.
Archival and pre-treatment tumor biopsies as well as pre- and post-treatment blood samples will be collected to evaluate a number of potential predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers using Jounce’s Translational Science Platform.
Poster Title: Phase 2 Study of PD-1 Inhibitor JTX-4014 (Pimivalimab) Alone and in Combination with Vopratelimab, an ICOS Agonist, in Biomarker-selected Subjects with Metastatic NSCLC After One Prior Platinum-containing Regimen (SELECT)
Presenter: Oleh Kobziev, MD, Regional Center of Oncology, Kharkiv, 61070, Ukraine
Session Title: Lung Cancer – Non-Small Cell Metastatic
Abstract Number: TPS9137
Date and Time: Friday, June 4, 2021; 9:00am ET

The SELECT trial is currently enrolling approximately 75 immunotherapy naïve NSCLC patients who have been pre-selected with the TISvopra predictive biomarker

TISvopra may serve as a unique biomarker for potential increased benefit for both pimivalimab monotherapy as well as pimivalimab in combination with vopratelimab.
Data from Jounce and a third-party ICOS agonist program support an ICOS-focused biomarker selection strategy to identify patients that may benefit from ICOS agonism.
Early screening data from SELECT support Jounce’s estimate that approximately 20% of PD-(L)1i naïve non-small cell lung cancer patients tested for TISvopra in the study would meet the TISvopra positivity threshold.
SELECT is on-track to report clinical data in 2022.
Both posters will be available on the "Our Pipeline" section of the Jounce Therapeutics website under "Publications" at www.jouncetx.com.

About JTX-8064

JTX-8064 is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody designed to specifically bind to Leukocyte Immunoglobulin Like Receptor B2 (LILRB2/ILT4) and block interactions with its ligands. JTX-8064 is the first tumor-associated macrophage candidate developed from Jounce’s Translational Science Platform. Preclinical data presented at the 2020 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper)’s Annual Meeting and the 2019 and 2021 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meetings support the development of JTX-8064 as a novel immunotherapy to reprogram immune-suppressive macrophages and enhance anti-tumor immunity. A Phase 1 clinical trial named INNATE (NCT04669899) of JTX-8064 as a monotherapy and in combination with Jounce’s internal anti-PD-1 inhibitor, pimivalimab (formerly JTX-4014) is currently enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors.

About Pimivalimab

Pimivalimab (formerly JTX-4014) is a well-characterized fully human IgG4 monoclonal antibody designed to block binding to PD-L1 and PD-L2. Pimivalimab demonstrated a 17% durable overall response rate in a Phase 1 trial of 18 heavily pre-treated PD-(L)1 inhibitor naïve patients, which excluded all tumor types for which PD-(L)1 inhibitors were approved. In this Phase 1 trial, pimivalimab was shown to have an acceptable safety profile. Pimivalimab is currently being assessed in the INNATE Phase 1 trial (NCT04669899) in combination with JTX-8064, a LILRB2 (ILT4) inhibitor. Pimivalimab is also being assessed in the SELECT Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04549025) in combination with vopratelimab, a clinical-stage monoclonal antibody that binds to and activates ICOS, the Inducible T cell CO-Stimulator, a protein on the surface of certain T cells commonly found in many solid tumors.

About Vopratelimab

Vopratelimab is a clinical-stage monoclonal antibody that binds to and activates ICOS, the Inducible T cell CO-Stimulator, a protein on the surface of certain T cells commonly found in many solid tumors. Vopratelimab is currently being assessed in the SELECT Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04549025) in combination with Jounce’s internal investigational PD-1 inhibitor, pimivalimab (formerly JTX-4014), compared to pimivalimab alone. The SELECT trial is currently enrolling approximately 75 immunotherapy naïve NSCLC patients who have been pre-selected with the TISvopra predictive biomarker, an 18 gene RNA tumor inflammation signature which predicted the emergence of ICOS hi CD4 T cells and clinical benefit in the ICONIC trial of vopratelimab alone and in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor. SELECT is powered to demonstrate the statistical superiority of the combination of vopratelimab plus pimivalimab compared to pimivalimab.

On June 4, 2021 Glycotope GmbH, a biotechnology company developing antibodies against proteins carrying tumor-specific carbohydrate structures, reported it is presenting two posters at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, which is being held virtually this year due to COVID-19 (Press release, Glycotope, JUN 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234583526]).

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Henner Kollenberg, Managing Director of Glycotope GmbH commented: "The data presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) highlight our ability to draw on our long-standing expertise in glyco-biology to generate novel biopharmaceuticals targeting cancer indications. The data showed that a Glycotope-developed anti-TA-MUC1 antibody combined with the anti-EGFR Tomuzotuximab or Panitumumab in patients with refractory solid tumors is safe and feasible and exhibited interesting anti-tumour activity."

Poster details are as follows:

Poster 2524

Title: Safety and tolerability results of the GATTO study, a phase Ib study combining the anti-TA-MUC1 antibody Gatipotuzumab with the anti-EGFR Tomuzotuximab or Panitumumab in patients with refractory solid tumors
Session: Poster Session: Developmental Therapeutics—Immunotherapy
Abstract ID: 332635

Download: View Source

Poster 2522
Title: Activity results of the GATTO study, a phase Ib study combining the anti-TA-MUC1 antibody Gatipotuzumab with the anti-EGFR Tomuzotuximab or Panitumumab in patients with refractory solid tumors

Session: Poster Session: Developmental Therapeutics—Immunotherapy
Abstract ID: 329709

On June 4, 2021 Notable Labs Inc., a leader in technology-powered life science with a proprietary platform for predicting patient outcomes and accelerating precision drug development, reported top-line results from its clinical response prediction technology platform in a pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) study to be presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting to be held June 4th-8th (Press release, Notable Labs, JUN 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234583542]). The data will be presented by Dr. Alexandra Stevens at Texas Children’s Cancer Center and highlights the correlation of functional drug sensitivity screening using Notable’s predictive technology platform with clinical outcomes of pediatric patients.

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In the exploratory study, blood or bone marrow samples from 22 de novo pediatric AML patients prior to receiving pre-induction chemotherapy were processed using Notable’s predictive technology platform. Chemosensitivity profiles across a broad spectrum of ex vivo conditions were analyzed and integrated into a predictive measure for individual patients. This measure of ex vivo drug sensitivity correlated with the patients’ clinical results of minimal residual disease and one year relapse-free survival.

"Our collaboration with one of the leading pediatric medical centers further demonstrates the potential of Notable’s prediction technology in identifying and fast-tracking combination therapies in a real-world situation." said Dr. Thomas Bock, CEO of Notable. Dr. Stevens added, "These results are a critical step forward towards our vision of precision medicine where treatments are focused on those patients who will clinically respond, especially for hard-to-treat patient populations."

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Poster Presentation

Title: Ex Vivo Drug Sensitivity Assay Correlates with Clinical Response in Pediatric AML
Session Name: Poster Session: Pediatric Oncology
Abstract Number: 10032
Presentation Time: Available beginning June 4th, 2021