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AstraZeneca and Isis Pharmaceuticals to Co-Develop Targeted Oligonucleotide Delivery Methods

On November 13, 2014 Isis Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca reported a strategic alliance to discover and develop novel delivery methods for antisense oligonucleotides (Press release Isis Pharmaceuticals, NOV 13, 2014, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=1989207 [SID:1234500960]). The new delivery approaches seek to target the desired tissue more effectively. The agreement builds on an existing collaboration between AstraZeneca and Isis Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the field of antisense, and supports AstraZeneca’s research and development capabilities in the area of antisense oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and RNA biology. Initial project areas will be oncology and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD).

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Antisense oligonucleotides are short, single strands of DNA or RNA molecules. Rather than modulating the activity of already-formed proteins, antisense oligonucleotides act before proteins are produced at the level of messenger RNA in the cell, thus opening up new opportunities for therapeutic intervention. The new delivery methods will aim to enhance the access of antisense oligonucleotides into specific organs and cells. The methods build on Isis Pharmaceuticals’ successful Ligand Conjugation Antisense (LICA) technology. The first example of this technology being Isis’ GalNac-conjugated antisense oligonucleotides targeting liver hepatocytes, which lowers the therapeutic dose needed for liver targets by approximately 10-fold.

Under the terms of the agreement, each party will fund its own contribution and commit investigators to the collaboration. In line with AstraZeneca’s open innovation approach, the companies will work together on an agreed programme and share rights to the results. Isis can apply learnings from this collaboration broadly across its antisense technology platform and AstraZeneca can similarly apply learnings across its broader RNA-based, small molecule and antibody research and development activities.

Isis Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca entered into a collaboration, development and license agreement in 2012 in oncology, subsequently expanded in 2013 to include CVMD. Under the 2012 agreement, one of the molecules being developed is AZD9150 (ISIS-STAT3Rx), a first-in-human, first-in-class, antisense oligonucleotide inhibitor of STAT3, which is being developed as an immunomodulatory agent in combination with MEDI4736, AstraZeneca’s investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor. A second product of that collaboration, an antisense oncology compound targeting the androgen receptor AZD5312 (ISIS-ARRx), is in Phase I trials. The new delivery collaboration announced today builds on this existing relationship and is expected to also bring benefits to these programs.

"This exciting collaboration very much supports AstraZeneca’s research and development in the area of RNA-based therapeutics. If successful, we’ll have a way to selectivity modulate therapeutic targets in specific cell types that are intractable to small molecules and antibodies. This could lead to a number of ground breaking drugs for both oncology and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," said Susan Galbraith, Head of the Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit, AstraZeneca.

Brett Monia, Senior Vice President of Antisense Drug Discovery, Isis Pharmaceuticals said, "The collaboration expansion announced today builds upon an already successful agreement between Isis and AstraZeneca. Together, we have advanced ISIS-STAT3Rx and ISIS-ARRx in clinical development, both of which are being evaluated in patients with cancer. This opportunity also complements our internal efforts to expand the use of our technology and develop drugs with broad therapeutic applicability."

"RNA molecules play an increasingly important role in our research portfolio. We are delighted to be expanding our existing, strong collaboration with Isis Pharmaceuticals, who are leading players in RNA biology, with the aim of improving the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides to specific cardiovascular and metabolic tissue targets," said Marcus Schindler, Head of the CVMD Innovative Medicines Unit, AstraZeneca.

8-K – Current report

On November 13, 2014 Puma Biotechnology reported top line results from a Phase II clinical trial of Puma’s investigational drug PB272 (neratinib) for the treatment of first-line HER2-positive locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer (NEfERTT trial) (Filing 8-K , Puma Biotechnology, NOV 13, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500962]). The NEfERTT trial is a randomized, two-arm Phase II trial of neratinib plus the anticancer drug paclitaxel versus trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for HER2- positive locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.

The NEfERTT trial enrolled 479 patients in 33 countries with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer who had not received prior anticancer therapy for locally recurrent or metastatic disease. Patients were randomized to receive first-line treatment with either paclitaxel plus neratinib or paclitaxel plus trastuzumab. The primary endpoint of the trial was progression free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints of the study included objective response rate (ORR) and the incidence of central nervous system (CNS) metastases, including brain metastases.

The safety results of the study showed that the most frequently observed adverse event for the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus neratinib was diarrhea, with approximately 30% of the patients experiencing grade 3 diarrhea. The rate of grade 3 diarrhea in the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab was approximately 4%. Patients who received neratinib in this trial did not receive any prophylaxis with antidiarrheal agents to prevent the neratinib related diarrhea. Puma’s recently reported clinical data from a Phase II trial of neratinib in HER2 mutated non-small cell lung cancer demonstrated that the use of high dose loperamide greatly reduces the rate of grade 3 diarrhea with neratinib. In that trial the grade 3 diarrhea rate was 8% in the patients who received neratinib monotherapy. In all of its current ongoing studies Puma is instituting the use of high dose loperamide in order to continue to reduce the neratinib related diarrhea.

The primary endpoint of the NEfERTT trial was progression free survival. The results of the trial demonstrated that the progression free survival for the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus neratinib was 16.6 months and the progression free survival for the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab was 16.7 months (p=0.35). The objective response rate in the trial for the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus neratinib was 74.8% and the objective response rate for the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab was 75.1% (p=0.94). These results did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the PFS and ORR results for the two treatment arms, which was consistent with expectations.

With respect to the incidence of central nervous system metastases (e.g., brain metastases), treatment with the combination of paclitaxel plus neratinib resulted in a 52.6% reduction in the incidence of CNS metastases compared to the incidence of CNS metastases in patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab. The incidence of CNS metastases was 7.4% in the patients who received paclitaxel plus neratinib, while the incidence of CNS metastases in the patients who received the combination of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab was 15.6% (p=0.006). These results reflect a statistically significant difference between the two treatment arms.

Full results of the NEfERTT trial for PB272 will be presented at a future scientific meeting in 2015.

“We are very pleased with the results of the NEfERTT trial with neratinib,” said Alan H. Auerbach, Chief Executive Officer and President. “As expected, there was no statistically significant difference in progression free survival and objective response rate for the paclitaxel plus neratinib arm compared to the paclitaxel plus trastuzumab arm. However, the paclitaxel plus neratinib arm showed a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of CNS metastases compared to the paclitaxel plus trastuzumab arm. This represents the first randomized trial with a HER2 targeted agent that has shown a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of CNS metastases, which we believe provides a meaningful point of differentiation for neratinib in the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. While the development of other HER2 targeted drugs has produced a clinically meaningful benefit to patients with HER2 positive breast cancer, these drugs have had little impact on CNS metastases. As a result, we believe that there remains an unmet clinical need for reducing the incidence of CNS metastases and the results of the NEfERTT study demonstrate that we may be able to provide this type of improvement with neratinib.”

Geron Announces Global Strategic Collaboration with Janssen to Develop and Commercialize Imetelstat

On November 13, 2014 Geron Corporation reported that the company has entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (“Janssen”) to develop and commercialize, imetelstat, Geron’s telomerase inhibitor product candidate, for oncology, including hematologic malignancies, and other human therapeutics uses (Press release Geron, NOV 13, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500961]). Imetelstat is a modified oligonucleotide that is currently in early phase clinical development for myelofibrosis (MF) and may have activity in other hematologic myeloid malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Under the terms of the agreement, Geron will receive an initial payment of $35 million due after the applicable waiting periods under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act and is eligible to receive additional payments up to a potential total of $900 million for the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on worldwide net sales. Certain regulatory, development, manufacturing and promotional activities will be managed through a joint governance structure, with Janssen responsible for operational implementation of these activities. All sales will be booked by Janssen.

“By leveraging Janssen’s ability to fully integrate and strategically align global oncology development and commercialization, we expect this collaboration to expand the development of imetelstat across a range of hematologic malignancies and potentially increase the speed with which imetelstat can be made available to patients with these serious, life-threatening diseases,” said Dr. John Scarlett, Geron’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Development of imetelstat will proceed under a mutually agreed clinical development plan, which is expected to include Phase 2 studies in MF and MDS as initial studies, additional registration studies in MF and MDS, and exploratory Phase 2 and potential follow-on Phase 3 studies in AML. Geron expects the initial Phase 2 study in MF to be initiated in mid-2015, followed later by a Phase 2 MDS study. Development costs for these two studies will be shared between the companies on a 50/50 basis.

Additional details regarding the collaboration can be found in Geron’s Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Oncoethix Starts Phase 1b Trials of OTX015 in the Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors (OTX015_107) and Glioma (OTX015_108)

Oncoethix, the Swiss-based specialist in oncology drug development, reported that the first patient has been enrolled in an international, open-label, non-randomized, multicenter Phase 1b trial of OTX015 in advanced solid tumors (Press release OncoEthix, NOV 12, 2014, View Source [SID:1234501220]). The trial will be coordinated by Dr Lillian Siu, MD, of the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada, who is Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and Director of the Phase 1 program.

The trial seeks to enrol up to 98 patients across seven centers in five countries (Belgium, Canada, France, Spain and Switzerland), including the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris, where Professor Jean-Charles Soria is the Principal investigator. Three patients have already been enrolled. The trial aims to determine, in a first step, the suitability of five solid tumor indications under investigation (BRD-NUT Midline Carcinoma, Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer harbouring a rearrangement ALK gene/fusion protein or KRAS mutation, and Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Pancreatic Ductal Carcinoma) to be progressed into the Phase 2a part of the trial.

Dr Esteban Cvitkovic, MD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Oncoethix, commented: "This multicenter Phase 1b trial is an important step for OTX015, as it will provide key safety and efficacy data in several solid tumor types, after having characterized its single agent safety and activity profile in the Acute Leukemias and Lymphomas in Phase 1 trial (OTX015_104). The solid tumor indications approach selected for OXT015 is based on compelling data from our own preclinical pharmacology program. We have also initiated a multicentric (France, Switzerland) Phase 2a trial in recurrent glioma."

OTX015 is a novel first-in-class synthetic small molecule inhibitor of BET bromodomain proteins 2/3/4. These proteins are considered potential cancer targets, as they play a pivotal role in regulating the transcription of growth-promoting and cell cycle regulators.

Coordinating investigator Dr Lillian Siu commented: "OTX015 is a promising drug that has shown outstanding early results in hematologic cancer studies and we are delighted to have commenced the solid tumor trial at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada."

Bertrand Damour, Chief Executive Officer at Oncoethix, added "We believe that OTX015 has the potential to be an important new drug across a number of advanced solid tumors and the start of the Phase 1b is a key milestone for the Company. We are also ahead of schedule in our hematologic cancer program and will be releasing further data from this program at NCI/EORTC/AACR in November and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) in December."

Oxigene’s positive PhII ovarian cancer data faces analyst’s skepticism

An analysis from Adam Feuerstein at TheStreetis skeptic on Oxigene’s positive Phase II ovarian cancer data (External Source FierceBiotech, OXiGENE, NOV 12, 2014, View Source;utm_source=internal [SID:1234500966]). A decision on using Avastin for ovarian cancer is looming, but hasn’t arrived yet, complicating any analysis of a combination drug study like this. Avastin, by the way, achieved a solid PFS but not a statistically significant overall survival benefit for ovarian cancer patients, which may not prevent its approval. If Avastin plus chemo becomes the standard of care in this area, then Oxigene will face some big challenges in designing a Phase III trial, notes Feuerstein. If the biotech decides to run a non-inferiority study, it will need a big and expensive patient population to examine. If it tries to beat Avastin/chemo, it faces a very tall order. And if Avastin is rejected, that makes Oxigene’s task even more difficult. Perhaps, suggests Feuerstein, the company should go a different route and try a combination with Votrient.