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Elevation Oncology to Discontinue Development of EO-3021; Advancing EO-1022, While Evaluating Strategic Options

On March 20, 2025 Elevation Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELEV), an innovative oncology company focused on the discovery and development of selective cancer therapies to treat patients across a range of solid tumors with significant unmet medical needs, reported that it has elected to discontinue development of EO-3021 (Press release, Elevation Oncology, MAR 20, 2025, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=elevation-oncology-to-discontinue-development-of-eo-3021-advancing-eo-1022-while-evaluating-strategic-options [SID1234651308]). EO-3021 is a Claudin 18.2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), which Elevation Oncology was developing for the treatment of advanced, unresectable or metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancers. Elevation Oncology will continue to advance EO-1022, a HER3 ADC for the treatment of patients with HER3-expressing solid tumors, and, in parallel, is initiating a process to evaluate strategic options to maximize shareholder value.

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The decision to discontinue clinical development of EO-3021 was based on data from the dose escalation and expansion stages of Elevation Oncology’s Phase 1 trial, in which treatment with EO-3021 as a monotherapy demonstrated an objective response rate (ORR) of 22.2% (95% CI: 10, 39; 1 confirmed complete response and 7 confirmed partial responses) and a disease control rate (DCR) of 72.2% (95% CI: 55, 86) among 36 evaluable patients with gastric or GEJ cancer and Claudin 18.2 in ≥20% of tumor cells at IHC 2+/3+. In the safety analysis of all enrolled patients (n=85), treatment with EO-3021 was observed to be generally well-tolerated, with an adverse event profile consistent with previously reported data, including minimal hematological toxicity and hepatotoxicity, and no peripheral neuropathy/hypoesthesia.

"We are deeply disappointed by these results from our Phase 1 trial. Despite continuing to demonstrate differentiated safety as a more combinable ADC, updated efficacy data suggest that treatment with EO-3021 does not meet our bar for success and is insufficient to provide patients a competitive benefit-risk profile compared to other Claudin 18.2 ADCs in development," said Joseph Ferra, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elevation Oncology. "Based on these data, we have decided to discontinue further development of EO-3021. I want to express my tremendous gratitude to the patients, physicians and site coordinators who participated in the EO-3021 clinical trial."

Mr. Ferra continued, "We are turning our focus to our potentially differentiated HER3 ADC, EO-1022, which incorporates glycan site-specific conjugation and is designed to address significant and emerging unmet needs in many HER3-expressing cancers. We look forward to presenting preclinical data supporting its potential at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting next month. In parallel, we are initiating efforts to evaluate strategic options for the company. With cash into the second half of 2026 and a disciplined operating strategy, we are well-positioned to advance EO-1022 while working to identify and capitalize on the best opportunities to maximize value for our stakeholders."

Corporate Update:

Elevation Oncology is implementing a workforce reduction of approximately 70%. The total cash payments and costs related to this reduction in force are estimated to be approximately $3 million, with a significant majority of these amounts expected to be paid though the end of June 2025. As part of this reduction, Elevation Oncology’s Chief Medical Officer, Valerie Malyvanh Jansen, M.D., Ph.D., will step down, effective March 31, 2025. Dr. Jansen will continue to support the company in a consulting capacity.

"I want to thank the employees who will be departing as part of this restructuring. Over the past five years, my colleagues have worked tirelessly to advance a novel pipeline of selective medicines, demonstrating a tremendous commitment to making a difference for people living with cancer. I am deeply appreciative of their dedication, support and contributions," added Mr. Ferra.

Based on its current operating plans, Elevation Oncology now expects that its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $93.2 million as of December 31, 2024, will be sufficient to fund its operations into the second half of 2026.

Adaptimmune Provides Q4 and Full Year 2024 Business Update

On March 20, 2025 Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: ADAP), a company redefining the treatment of solid tumor cancers with cell therapy, reported a Q4 and Full Year 2024 business update (Press release, Adaptimmune, MAR 20, 2025, View Source [SID1234651305]).

Adrian Rawcliffe, Adaptimmune’s Chief Executive Officer: "2025 is the year of commercial execution for Tecelra, as we begin to generate value from our promising sarcoma franchise. The launch is going very well and each step in delivering this important medicine: activating our treatment network; identifying biomarker eligible patients; exceptional manufacturing quality and turn-around times, strengthens our sarcoma platform capabilities for both Tecelra and for lete-cel. These results give us confidence in our strategy to build value from our sarcoma franchise and our path to profitability in 2027. In the context of the current capital markets, we are assessing all strategic options to enable us to achieve these goals."

Tecelra launch momentum increasing – the first commercial product in Adaptimmune’s sarcoma franchise

● 20 Authorized Treatment Centers (ATCs) now accepting referrals
● On track to have the full network of approximately 30 ATCs open by end of 2025
● Apheresed 3 patients in 2024 and invoiced 2 with Q4 product revenue of $1.2m
● Apheresed 10 patients in 2025 to date
● Successful reimbursement with no denials to date
● 100% success rate in manufacturing to date with no capacity constraints

Lete-cel – the next product in Adaptimmune’s sarcoma franchise

● Pivotal trial met primary endpoint with 42% ORR including 6 complete responses (CTOS 2024)
● On track to initiate rolling BLA submission in late 2025; approval anticipated in 2026
● Lete-cel will expand the addressable patient population for sarcoma franchise

Oxford BioTherapeutics Enters into a Strategic Collaboration with Roche to Discover Novel Targets for Antibody-Based Therapeutics for the Treatment of Cancer

On March 19, 2025 Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT), a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology (IO) and Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC)-based therapies, reported a multi-year collaboration with Roche to discover novel potentially first-in-class antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer (Press release, Oxford BioTherapeutics, MAR 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234656419]).

OBT’s recently launched enhanced proprietary OGAP-Verify discovery platform enables greater sensitivity and thereby the selection of targets with improved attributes for drug development.

Under the terms of the agreement, targets are identified via the OGAP-Verify discovery platform and will be validated through the research collaboration. Any further research, development and commercialization efforts against these targets will be driven by Roche. OBT will receive up to US$36 million upfront payments from Roche and may be eligible to receive milestone payments potentially exceeding US$1 billion, plus product royalties on net sales.

"We are proud to partner with Roche, a global leader in oncology, to accelerate the application of novel cancer targets identified through our proprietary discovery platform, OGAP-Verify," said Christian Rohlff, PhD, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oxford BioTherapeutics. "This collaboration builds on our efforts to enhance, validate and advance the discovery of oncology targets, and we look forward to leveraging Roche’s deep expertise to translate these insights into potential new treatments for patients. Our discovery philosophy is very patient centric and Roche’s strength to integrate pharma and diagnostics is unique in the industry."

"We are excited to enter into this strategic collaboration with OBT. By combining Roche’s expertise in discovering and developing transformative therapeutics with OBT’s innovative target discovery platform, we aim to unlock new possibilities in cancer treatment", said Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Corporate Business Development at Roche. "This partnership underscores our commitment to advancing potentially first-in-class antibody-based therapeutics. Together, we aim to accelerate the development of innovative therapies that address major unmet patient needs in oncology."

Sona Presents Additional Preclinical Data Demonstrating Repeated Ability Of Its Cancer Therapy To Inhibit Tumor Growth In Colorectal Cancer Model

On March 19, 2025 Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) (OTCQB: SNANF) (the "Company", "Sona") reported updated data confirming efficacy of its Targeted Hyperthermia Therapy ("THT") cancer treatment in an immunotherapy resistant cancer (Press release, Sona Nanotech, MAR 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234652834]). In this follow-up data to the previously released preliminary study (see press release dated December 11, 2024), again using an industry-standard, immunotherapy resistant, CT-26 colon cancer model, Sona’s THT cancer treatment was 100% effective in activating a strong, effective immune system response. In these experiments, animals treated with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, a standard of care immunotherapy, experienced no benefit with tumors growing similarly to tumors in the control group of untreated animals. However, in a new, second cohort of eight animals first treated with Sona’s THT and then treated with a PD-1 inhibitor, 100% of animals responded demonstrating near complete arrest in tumor growth in the majority of animals as highlighted by the dashed green line in Figure 1, below.

Sona Nanotech CMO, Dr. Carman Giacomantonio, commented, "In this study, Sona’s THT cancer treatment is clearly the difference maker in inhibiting the growth of this notoriously difficult-to-treat cancer. THT’s ability to cause the expression of new antigens causes the immune system to engage, which we show permits immunotherapies to work better, making THT a powerful potential immunotherapy in its own right."

Sona Nanotech CEO, David Regan, commented, "While still an early preclinical study, we are nonetheless very excited to see the repeatability of our earlier successful preclinical colorectal study results. This data gives us additional confidence as to THT’s ability to enhance the response rates of immunotherapies used in humans, which we expect to be able to assess shortly in our first-in-human early feasibility study."

Further data from this experiment can be found in the Company’s updated corporate presentation, which can be accessed in the Investor Section of its website.

Sona’s THT cancer treatment uses the Company’s patented, biocompatible gold nanorods ("GNRs") to treat certain solid cancer tumors, shrinking them and stimulating the immune system, which has been shown in preclinical studies to enhance the response rates of two different immunotherapy drugs, IL-2 and PD-1.

ChromaDex Evolves Into Niagen Bioscience, Marking a New Era of Uncovering the Potential of NAD+ With Precision Science

On March 19, 2025 Niagen Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: NAGE) (formerly ChromaDex Corp.), the global authority on NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) with a focus on the science of healthy aging, reported it has changed its corporate name to Niagen Bioscience, Inc. ("Niagen Bioscience" or the "Company") and the Company’s common stock will begin trading under the new Nasdaq symbol "NAGE" at stock market open today, Wednesday, March 19, 2025 (Press release, ChromaDex, MAR 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234651885]). The CUSIP number for the Company’s common stock will remain the same.

ChromaDex Evolves into Niagen Bioscience, Marking a New Era of Uncovering the Potential of NAD+ with Precision Science

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With a legacy spanning over 25 years, this strategic evolution underscores the Company’s true identity as the pioneer of NAD+ research and innovator behind transformative NAD-boosting healthy-aging solutions. At the forefront is Niagen Bioscience’s clinically proven, patented flagship nicotinamide riboside (NR) ingredient, Niagen – the most well-researched, efficient, and high-quality, and legal NAD+ booster available.

"This is more than a name change; this is a turning point in our story," said Rob Fried, CEO of Niagen Bioscience. "We have achieved several scientific, financial, and strategic milestones. As Niagen Bioscience, the global leader in NAD+ science and commerce, we have the opportunity to help every living being around the world age better."

Building on a 25+ year legacy, Niagen Bioscience’s renewed mission is simple yet powerful: "There’s a better way to age." The Company remains dedicated to addressing one of life’s most complex challenges—aging. Embodying precision science, Niagen Bioscience is distinguished by state-of-the-art laboratories, rigorous scientific and quality protocols, and independent research collaborations with renowned investigators and institutions worldwide.

Niagen Bioscience’s clinically proven product portfolio, Tru Niagen and Niagen Plus, is the pinnacle of NAD+ supplementation. Tru Niagen, the Company’s consumer supplement featuring clinically proven food-grade Niagen (patented NR), is the number one NAD+ boosting oral supplement in the United States†. Niagen Plus features pharmaceutical-grade Niagen (NR), compounded by U.S. FDA-registered 503B outsourcing facilities. It is available by prescription as intravenous (IV) and injectable Niagen. Niagen Bioscience is the first company in the U.S. to offer a novel branded ingredient (Niagen) both as a direct-to-consumer dietary supplement (Tru Niagen) and as an intravenous and injectable pharmaceutical-grade product (Niagen IV).

"Our new identity creates a stronger foundation for expanding scientific discoveries and opens doors for potential future strategic partnerships across the bioscience and healthcare sectors," added Mr. Fried. "With this name change, we are celebrating that Niagen is a household name synonymous with healthy aging."

Niagen Bioscience recently reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, with strong full-year net sales at $99.6 million, up 19% from the prior year, and $44.7 million in cash and no debt position. Niagen Bioscience continues to lead the NAD+ space and is reinforced by strong financial results, Tru Niagen’s position as the number one NAD+ boosting supplement in the United States†, the onboarding of Niagen IV at 475 clinics nationwide, and the Company’s distinctive external research program, which has generated over 35 human clinical studies on Niagen.

To mark this milestone today, the Niagen Bioscience executive team will participate in the Nasdaq Closing Bell Ceremony on March 19, 2025, the same day as the official announcement. A live-stream of the Nasdaq Closing Bell Ceremony will take place at www.nasdaq.com at 3:50 pm ET / 12:50 pm PT. This event symbolizes the Company’s next chapter as the pioneer of NAD+ and healthy-aging science.

To learn more about Niagen Bioscience’s bold new chapter, visit www.niagenbioscience.com. Follow the Company’s news, research milestones, and announcements on social media here View Source