On November 4, 2020 Oncopeptides AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: ONCO), a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of targeted therapies for difficult-to-treat hematological diseases, reported that twelve abstracts, including one oral presentation, have been accepted for the upcoming virtual American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) meeting on December 5-8, 2020 (Press release, Oncopeptides, NOV 4, 2020, View Source [SID1234569838]). Key clinical abstracts focus on data from the ongoing phase 1/2 ANCHOR combination study and the pivotal phase 2 HORIZON study. The preclinical abstracts further explore the mechanism of action of the proprietary peptide-drug conjugate platform in multidrug resistant models of multiple myeloma. The abstracts are published online today at View Source

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The updated analysis of the ongoing phase 1/2 ANCHOR study confirms the initial findings of encouraging activity as a triplet regimen with melflufen plus dexamethasone and either daratumumab or bortezomib in patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma and sets the foundation for the planned phase 3 LIGHTHOUSE daratumumab combination study.

Seven clinical abstracts are based on the HORIZON study, most notable are the subgroup analysis of patients exposed to and refractory to alkylators and the analysis of patients with extramedullary disease, that further verify the distinct mechanism of action of melflufen.

"We look forward to sharing a robust dataset from our clinical and pre-clinical programs in multiple myeloma which further validates the strength of our peptide-drug conjugate platform," says Klaas Bakker, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Oncopeptides. "These abstracts provide a comprehensive and multi-faceted analysis of the safety and efficacy of melflufen. Collectively, these results demonstrate our continued commitment to finding a novel therapeutic approach for heavily treated, high risk multiple myeloma patients, with a particularly poor prognosis and limited treatment options."

Below is a brief description of the abstracts that have been accepted by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper).

Clinical abstracts First Author Abstract Code Disposition
ANCHOR
ANCHOR (OP-104): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone (dex) and Daratumumab (dara) or Bortezomib (BTZ) in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM) Refractory to an IMiD and/or a Proteasome Inhibitor (PI)—Updated Efficacy and Safety. Ocio E, et. al. 417 Oral
HORIZON
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone (dex) in Patients (pts) with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM) Exposed to Prior Alkylator Therapy—Subgroup Analysis Roudriguez-Otero P, et.al 2321 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone (dex) in 55 Patients (pts) with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM) with Extramedullary Disease (EMD)—Subgroup Analysis. Richardson, PG, et.al 3214 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma ith High-Risk Cytogenetics—Subgroup Analysis. Mateos MV, et.al 3237 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma—Age Subgroup Analysis of Elderly Patients. Larocca A et.al. 2293 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone (dex) in Patients (Pts) with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM)—Health-related Quality of Life (HR QoL) Analysis. Oriol A, et.al. 3477 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106): Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone (dex) in Patients (pts) with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM)—Analysis of Adverse Events Related to Hospitalizations. Nadeem O, et.al. 2564 Poster
HORIZON (OP-106) Versus MAMMOTH: An Indirect Comparison of Efficacy Outcomes for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM) Refractory to Anti-CD38 Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Treated with Melflufen Plus Dexamethasone Versus Conventional Agents. Blade J, et.al. TBC Publication only
Pre-clinical abstracts
Effect of ABCB1 Multidrug Resistance Protein on Efficacy of Anti-Myeloma Drugs in Carfilzomib Resistant Myeloma Model. Byrgazov K, et.al. Poster
Melflufen Shows Efficacy Against Bortezomib-Resistant Multiple Myeloma Models Including Myeloma Stem Cells Byrgazov K, et.al. Poster
Anti-Myeloma Drug Melflufen Inhibits RANKL Osteoclastogenesis By Suppressing Proliferation of CD14+ Precursor Cells Byrgazov K, et.al. Poster
Novel Alkylating Agent Melflufen Displays Potent Efficacy in Samples from Patients with High Risk Subsets of Multiple Myeloma Including Plasma Cell Leukemia Idler B, et.al. Poster
Melflufen (INN Melphalan flufenamide) is an investigational first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that targets aminopeptidases and rapidly releases alkylating agents into tumor cells. Melflufen is in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of patients with triple-class refractory multiple myeloma and has recently been granted a priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, for a New Drug Application based on the results from the phase 2 HORIZON study.

For more information, please contact:
Klaas Bakker, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Oncopeptides
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: +44 7818 523903

Rein Piir, Head of Investor Relations at Oncopeptides
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell phone: +46 70 853 72 92

This information was submitted for publication on November 4, 2020 at 16:30 (CET).

About melflufen
Melflufen (INN melphalan flufenamide) is a first in class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that targets aminopeptidases and releases alkylating agents into tumor cells. Melflufen is rapidly taken up by myeloma cells due to its high lipophilicity and is immediately hydrolyzed by peptidases to release an entrapped hydrophilic alkylator payload. Aminopeptidases are overexpressed in tumor cells and are even more pronounced in advanced cancers and tumors with a high mutational burden. In vitro, melflufen is 50-fold more potent in myeloma cells than the alkylator payload itself due to the increased intracellular alkylator concentration. Melflufen displays cytotoxic activity against myeloma cell lines resistant to other treatments, including alkylators, and has also demonstrated inhibition of DNA repair induction and angiogenesis in preclinical studies. In the pivotal phase 2 HORIZON study melflufen plus dexamethasone demonstrated encouraging efficacy and a clinically manageable safety profile in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma, with primarily hematologic Adverse Events (AE) and a low incidence of non-hematologic AEs.