On July 21, 2016 DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMPI) ("DelMar" and the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, reported that it will present an abstract at the 12th Meeting of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) taking place in Mannheim, Germany from October 12 – 16, 2016 (Press release, DelMar Pharmaceuticals, JUL 21, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513983]).
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DelMar will present an abstract entitled: "Dianhydrogalactitol (VAL-083) causes bifunctional alkylation leading to irreparable DNA double-strand breaks, S/G2 phase cell-cycle arrest and tumor cell death in an MGMT independent manner offering a unique treatment paradigm for GBM."
The Company’s EANO presentation will further elucidate how VAL-083 attacks cancer cells utilizing a mechanism of action distinct from other chemotherapies used in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. Specifically, DelMar will present data supporting the potential of VAL-083 to treat patients whose tumors exhibit features correlated with resistance to the chemotherapies currently used in the treatment of GBM.
About VAL-083
VAL-083 is a "first-in-class," small-molecule chemotherapeutic. In more than 40 Phase I and II clinical studies sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, VAL-083 demonstrated clinical activity against a range of cancers including lung, brain, cervical, ovarian tumors and leukemia both as a single-agent and in combination with other treatments.
VAL-083 has received an orphan drug designation in Europe for the treatment of malignant gliomas; and the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products has granted an orphan designation to VAL-083 for the treatment of glioma, medulloblastoma and ovarian cancer.
DelMar presented data from a recently completed Phase I/II clinical trial in refractory GBM at the 2016 American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual meeting. In summary, the Company reported that:
Median survival of 22 patients receiving an assumed therapeutic dose of VAL-083 (≥20mg/m2) was 8.35 months following bevacizumab (Avastin) failure compared to published literature where survival of approximately three to five months has been reported.
A dose of 40 mg/m2/day VAL-083 administered on the first three days of every three-week cycle is well tolerated in refractory GBM patients and has been selected for study in subsequent clinical trials.
DelMar believes that these data support the potential of VAL-083 as a new chemotherapy that may offer improved outcomes in the treatment of GBM. The Company recently announced the completion of a successful end of Phase II meeting with the U.S. FDA and plans to advance VAL-083 into a pivotal clinical trial for GBM patients following bevacizumab failure.
DelMar’s advanced development program will feature a single randomized Phase III study measuring survival outcomes compared to a "physicians’ choice" control, which, if successful, would serve as the basis for a New Drug Application (NDA) submission for VAL-083. The control arm will consist of a limited number of salvage chemotherapies currently utilized in the treatment of Avastin-failed GBM. The final pivotal trial design will be confirmed with the FDA following further discussions with the Company’s clinical advisors.
In addition to the pivotal trial, DelMar also plans to initiate two separate Phase II clinical trials in earlier-stage GBM patients.
In collaboration with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: A non-comparative, biomarker-driven, Phase II study to determine if treatment of MGMT-unmethylated recurrent GBM with VAL-083 or CCNU improves overall survival at 9 months, compared to historical control in bevacizumab naïve patients. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02717962)
In collaboration with Sun-Yat Sen University and Guangxi Wuzhou Pharmaceutical (Group) Co.: A single arm Phase II clinical trial to confirm the tolerability of DelMar’s dosing regimen in combination with radiotherapy (XRT) and to explore the activity of VAL-083 in newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients whose tumors are known to express high levels of MGMT.
DelMar believes that data from these clinical trials, if successful, will form the basis of a new paradigm in the treatment for all GBM patients who fail, or whose tumors exhibit features that make them unlikely to respond to, currently available chemotherapy.