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Kuur Therapeutics Launches to Develop and Commercialize “Off-the-shelf” CAR-NKT Cell Therapies Targeting Hematological and Solid Tumors

On March 10, 2020 Kuur Therapeutics reported the launch of its new business in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor’s Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (Press release, Kuur Therapeutics, MAR 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234555391]). Houston-based Kuur Therapeutics will advance the work of its predecessor, Cell Medica, to develop anti-cancer therapies using its innovative chimeric antigen receptor natural killer T cell (CAR-NKT) therapy platform.

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IP Group, Baylor College of Medicine and Schroeder Adveq are investing to support two phase 1 studies: GINAKIT 2 (autologous CAR-NKT cells in neuroblastoma) and ANCHOR (allogeneic CAR-NKT cells in CD19 malignancy). The ongoing GINAKIT2 study is now enrolling patients at the third dose level and the ANCHOR study IND has recently been approved by the FDA, with first patient treatment expected in 1H 2020. The funding will also support the preclinical development of an allogeneic CAR-NKT product for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, ahead of an IND submission anticipated in 1H 2021.

In conjunction with the new investment, Kevin S Boyle, Sr, was named CEO of Kuur, succeeding Chris Nowers. Mr Boyle joined Cell Medica as CFO in February 2018. Kevin previously held senior finance roles at both NASDAQ-listed and private equity backed companies. He is an accomplished capital markets professional, having raised over $2.0 billion in equity and debt capital.

Kuur’s novel CAR-NKT platform is a next-generation technology of engineered immune cells with enhanced functions for the treatment of hematological and solid tumors. It utilizes the unique properties of NKT cells, a specialized type of innate lymphocyte, which shares properties with both T and NK cells. This platform, developed in the laboratory of Baylor Principal Investigator Leonid Metelitsa, is exclusively licensed to Kuur by its partner and collaborator, Baylor College of Medicine.

Annalisa Jenkins, Chair of Kuur’s Board, said: "We are fortunate to have Kevin step up to the role of CEO. He will act as a change agent, leading the company during a crucial period for our clinical trials and working to secure the additional capital required to progress our two lead CAR-NKT products through the clinic.

"The Board would also like to thank Chris for his exceptional leadership during a transition period that has resulted in a company on the right path forward for its investors, with a focus on its important collaborations."

Kevin S Boyle, Sr, Kuur’s CEO, said: "I am excited to lead Kuur Therapeutics at such a pivotal moment. We are making final preparations to take our off-the-shelf program into the clinic and believe the allogeneic approach holds huge promise for unlocking the potential of CAR therapies for large patient populations. Compared with patient-specific autologous CAR products, it is immediately available for treatment and less expensive to manufacture."

Leonid S. Metelitsa, BCM Principal Investigator, said: "My goal is to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients, especially children, and I’m excited to be working with the Kuur team to make this goal a reality. I believe that the NKT-cell platform technology, developed in my laboratory and progressed to first-in-human clinical testing in close collaboration with colleagues at BCM and Texas Children’s Hospital, offers a unique route to next-generation off-the-shelf CAR therapies for a broad range of malignancies."

First Liver Cancer Patient Dosed in the MIV-818 Phase Ib Study

On March 10, 2020 Medivir AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: MVIR) reported that the first patient with advanced liver cancer has been dosed in the phase Ib study of MIV-818 (Press release, Medivir, MAR 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234555389]). The MIV-818 phase I study (NCT03781934) consists of two parts: (i) the already completed phase Ia, which was a within-patient dose-escalation study, and (ii) the phase Ib between-patient dose-escalation study, a classic 3+3 dose-escalation multi-center study in patients with advanced liver cancer.

The phase Ia study demonstrated a liver-cancer directed effect of MIV-818 and five out of nine patients were considered to have stable liver disease after MIV-818 treatment.

The primary objective of the phase Ib study is to establish the safety and tolerability profile of MIV-818. A secondary objective is to further explore the efficacy of MIV-818.

"Patients with advanced liver cancer have limited treatment options and the unmet medical need is large" said Dr Uli Hacksell, CEO of Medivir. "Having obtained an encouraging proof-of-concept for the liver-cancer directed effect of MIV-818 in phase Ia, we hope to get additional supportive data from the phase Ib study. We believe that MIV-818 has the potential to provide liver cancer patients with major therapeutic benefits."

For further information, please contact:
Dr Uli Hacksell
CEO
Medivir AB
phone: +46(0)8-5468-3100.

Medivir AB is obliged to make this information public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.55 CET on 10 March, 2020.

About liver cancer

Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancer that arises in the liver. Although existing therapies for advanced HCC are capable of extending the lives of patients, treatment benefits are low while death rates remain high. HCC is a very diverse disease with multiple cancer cell types and without the tumor-specific mutations seen in other tumor types. This has contributed to the lack of success of molecularly targeted agents in HCC. The limited overall benefit, taken together with the poor overall prognosis for patients with intermediate and advanced HCC, results in a large unmet medical need.

About MIV-818

MIV-818 is a pro-drug designed to selectively treat liver cancers and to minimize side effects. It has the potential to become the first liver-targeted, orally administered drug to benefit patients with HCC and other forms of liver cancer.

American Brain Tumor Association and Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation Announce Partnership to Accelerate Brain Tumor Research

On March 10, 2020 American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) reported a new partnership with the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (SBTF) to accelerate brain tumor research (Press release, American Brain Tumor Association, MAR 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234555388]). Through this partnership, the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation will invest $50,000 in the ABTA research program to fund one glioblastoma immunotherapy research project. For more than 46 years, the ABTA has served the brain tumor community by funding research and delivering patient programs and services.

"The Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation is a critical ally in our joint pursuit of eradicating this devastating disease," said Ralph DeVitto, president and chief executive officer of the American Brain Tumor Association. "Collaborative research partnerships significantly strengthen our ability to accelerate brain tumor research and uncover insights that will one day lead to a cure."

With an established and sophisticated mechanism to evaluate and foster brain tumor research, the ABTA has earned recognition as a trusted and committed research conduit for organizations and foundations who aim to advance brain tumor research. Since 1976, the ABTA has awarded more than $32 million in research grants to scientists from around the world to discover more about the causes, effects, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric and adult brain tumors.

The SBTF founded in 1995, with the mission to improve the quality of life for brain tumor patients and their families, has funded more than 46 projects totaling more than $2.5 million.

"Funding brain tumor research is of paramount importance to each member of the SBTF Board," said Geri-Dee Shaffer, executive director of the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation. "Expanding our funding reach through this collaborative effort with the ABTA is very exciting. Together we are stronger and together we can do so much to combat this disease."

The Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation is an important new partner for the ABTA’s research initiatives. The ABTA is grateful to them and other established research collaborators within the brain tumor community, including the Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Memorial Foundation, Uncle Kory Foundation and Humor to Fight the Tumor, among others.

Zimmer Biomet Announces Quarterly Dividend for First Quarter of 2020

On March 10, 2020 Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, reported that its Board of Directors has approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend to stockholders for the first quarter of 2020 (Press release, Zimmer Holdings, MAR 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234555387]).

The cash dividend of $0.24 per share is payable on April 30, 2020 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 27, 2020.

Sysmex Inostics’ Updated SafeSEQ Breast Cancer Panel Advances Novel Clinical Uses of ctDNA Through Quantitative Testing

On March 10, 2020 Sysmex Inostics has reported the test to provide additional key information for investigation of the validity of ctDNA for molecular monitoring and recurrence surveillance for breast cancer patients who are receiving novel therapies (Press release, Sysmex Inostics, MAR 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234555386]).

In addition to a high detection rate even for patients with very low frequency mutations, the SafeSEQ Breast Cancer Panel has now also demonstrated the ability to delineate true changes in the level of ctDNA from random sampling or technical variation. This is in contrast to other liquid biopsy methods which report mutations detected along with the ratio of mutant molecules to wildtype molecules (mutant allele frequency, MAF), but are unable to relate changes in MAF to changes in the disease status of the patient with confidence. For instance, clinical data presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) demonstrated the importance of accurate detection of ctDNA with SafeSEQ testing to monitor tumor response in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment.

As a highly refined clinical development diagnostic, the SafeSEQ breast cancer panel has demonstrated exquisite sensitivity for detecting mutations in ESR1, which are known to arise in patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer who have progressed on adjuvant hormone therapy. Extensive ESR1 ctDNA testing by Sysmex Inostics’ OncoBEAM enhanced digital PCR has shown that these mutations occur at very low frequencies in circulation. Patients who are receiving an investigational ESR1-directed therapy as part of a clinical trial may exhibit an ESR1 mutation well below 1% MAF at baseline which could then decrease further, sometimes below 0.1% MAF, several months after initiation of therapy. Using a traditional qualitative ctDNA next generation sequencing-based test would not only make detection of these low-frequency mutations difficult, but it would also not be possible to determine whether this reduction in MAF represents a true decrease in ctDNA that could reflect a clinical response. This is because the reduction in MAF may result from an increase in wildtype DNA rather than a decrease in tumor-derived DNA, and the magnitude of change in MAF may be within the range of random variation that is inherent to the assay. Quantitative ctDNA detection is also important for other clinical applications such as monitoring tumor response for patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment as illustrated by SafeSEQ data presented at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Poster P6-10-05.

The updated SafeSEQ Breast Cancer Panel can overcome these challenges by determining whether the change in the absolute number of ESR1 mutant molecules detected at each timepoint, irrespective of the wildtype background, is sufficient to suggest a true biological cause such as a clinical response. This ability for true quantitative mutation detection is based on a rigorous linearity validation study and is especially important given the increasing interest in ctDNA-based monitoring and surveillance to support rapid advancements in therapies for breast cancer patients.

"Without quantitatively measuring ctDNA in a way that is specific for the patient’s disease and instead employing qualitative methods based on mutant allele frequency that have traditionally been used for tissue analysis, you’re neglecting some of the unique aspects of ctDNA testing that can make it an extremely powerful tool for clinical development," noted Matt Ryder, Sysmex’s Associate Director of Biomarkers & Companion Diagnostics. "We are confident that the SafeSEQ Breast Cancer Panel is now one of the most informative tests available to support development of novel therapies for breast cancer, and we look forward to helping our pharma partners explore the clinical validity of ctDNA-based therapeutic monitoring and recurrence surveillance."

The updated SafeSEQ Breast Cancer Panel is available now for use as a clinical trial assay in Sysmex Inostics’ Baltimore-based CLIA laboratory.