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Nerviano Medical Sciences (NMS) to Reacquire World-Wide Rights of NMS-293, a Potent, Highly Selective, Non-Trapping, Brain-Penetrant PARP1 Inhibitor with Promising Clinical Results

On November 25, 2024 Nerviano Medical Sciences S.r.l. (NMS), a clinical stage company discovering and developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported that it has successfully negotiated with Merck KGaA the buy back of the full world-wide rights of NMS-293 (also known as NMS-03305293) (Press release, Nerviano Medical Sciences, NOV 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234648614]).

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NMS-293 is a potent, highly selective PARP1 inhibitor designed to avoid trapping, a known cause of toxicity in healthy cells, making it ideal for combination with DNA-damaging agents like chemotherapies, or ADC payloads, including in homologous recombination repair proficient tumors. In this respect, initial safety data across the program have shown high bone marrow tolerability1, supporting future promising clinical combinations in solid tumors.

Hugues Dolgos, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer, NMS commented: "The agreement that we announce today allows Nerviano Medical Sciences to re-gain full control of NMS-293, an innovative potential treatment for cancer patients, which we believe offers opportunity beyond the ongoing phase 2 study in patients with relapsed glioblastoma. We thank our partner Merck KGaA for the excellent collaboration. Our team is actively preparing two phase 1/2 trials to explore solid tumors, which will be subject to a further communication"

Kura Oncology to Participate in JMP Securities Hematology and Oncology Summit

On November 25, 2024 Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, reported its participation in the upcoming JMP Securities Hematology and Oncology Summit (Press release, Kura Oncology, NOV 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234648613]). Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to participate in a virtual fireside chat at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT on December 2, 2024.

A live audio webcast of the fireside chat will be available in the Investors section of Kura’s website at www.kuraoncology.com, with an archived replay available following the live event.

Karyopharm to Participate at the Piper Sandler 36th Annual Healthcare Conference

On November 25, 2024 Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: KPTI), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering novel cancer therapies, reported that the Company’s senior management team will participate at the Piper Sandler 36th Annual Healthcare Conference in a fireside chat on Tuesday, December 3 at 11:30 a.m. ET in New York, NY (Press release, Karyopharm, NOV 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234648612]).

A live webcast of the fireside chat can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investor section of the Company’s website, View Source, and will be available for replay following the event.

IN8bio Reports Continued Durable Remissions in Phase 1 Trial of INB-200 in Plenary Oral Presentation at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting

On November 25, 2024 IN8bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: INAB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative gamma-delta T cell therapies, reported results from the fully enrolled Phase 1 trial of INB-200 in a plenary oral presentation at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in Houston, TX (Press release, In8bio, NOV 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234648611]). The survival data along with histopathology and radiographic data are indicative of positive treatment effects, which highlight the potential of IN8bio’s genetically modified, chemotherapy-resistant gamma-delta T cells as a potential first-in-class therapy for patients with solid tumor cancers such as glioblastoma (GBM).

"As the clinical trial data continues to mature, this novel immuno-cell therapy leveraging gamma-delta T cells is highly feasible with a well-tolerated safety profile and biological evidence of improved immune surveillance in glioblastoma patients," said Burt Nabors, M.D., Division Director, Neuro-Oncology at the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"This novel treatment leverages the DNA damage induced by chemotherapy combined with genetically engineered gamma-delta T cells and we believe it represents a significant advancement in the treatment of solid tumor cancers such as GBM," said William Ho, co-founder and CEO of IN8bio. "Glioblastomas are often classified as cold, immune desert tumors due to their limited immune cell infiltration. For the first time, we have confirmed the infiltration of gamma-delta T cells into these tumors through paired tissue biopsies following treatment with INB-200. We are encouraged by the patient follow-up with repeat dose patients demonstrating a 79% increase in median PFS as compared to 6.9 months as reported by the Stupp regimen and an almost 50% increase in median PFS as compared to the 8.3 months in the three patients treated with only a single dose of INB-200 in Cohort 1. The addition of IN8bio’s DeltEx drug resistant immunotherapy (DRI) gamma-delta T cells show the potential for extending PFS in this difficult-to-treat patient population when INB-200 was administered in combination with the current standard-of-care used to treat newly diagnosed GBM patients."

The Phase 1 trial assessed the safety and preliminary efficacy of the addition of DeltEx DRI gamma-delta T cells to maintenance therapy with TMZ. The trial assessed the administration of 1×107 cells per dose across three different dosing regimens increasing from a single dose in Cohort 1, three doses in Cohort 2, and six doses in Cohort 3. A total of 13 patients have been enrolled and treated with INB-200, including three patients in Cohort 1, four patients in Cohort 2 and six patients in Cohort 3.

Key findings from the INB-200 Phase 1 trial:

92% of evaluable patients treated with INB-200 for GBM surpassed a median standard-of-care (Stupp regimen) PFS of 6.9 months, with a majority exceeding their expected PFS based on their age and the MGMT status of their tumors.
One patient with an IDH-mutant glioma remains alive and progression free at over 40.5 months; IDH-mutant patients in a recently published clinical trial demonstrated a median PFS of 11.1 months in the control arm and 27.7 months in the experimental arm.
No treatment-related serious adverse events, dose-limiting toxicities, cytokine release syndrome, infusion reactions, or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome have been reported in any cohort.
The most common treatment emergent adverse events were Grade 1-2 toxicities consisting of white blood cell and platelet count decreases related to standard-of-care TMZ.
Gamma-delta T cells and other immune subsets such as CD3+ and CD8+ T cells were found in relapsed tumor biopsies in two patients after treatment with INB-200, pointing to persistence of DRI gamma-delta T cells.
Gamma-delta T cells were within the normal range post-resection and remained stable with repeated doses (Cohorts 2 and 3), whereas the gamma-delta T cells in Cohort 1 continued to drop after the maintenance cycles with TMZ were initiated. This implies that repeat dosing of gamma-delta T cells may globally benefit the peripheral immune environment.
T cells were low prior to surgery, rose after resection and during the cell collection for the product, were below normal during chemotherapy, and in Cohorts 2 and 3 returned to the normal range following treatment.
Radiographic evaluation pre- and post-treatment included resolution of midline shift in one patient with evidence of changes in enhancement attributed to treatment effect in multiple patients. One subject was found to have a 36% decrease in a lesion attributed to positive treatment effect.

IMUNON Announces Results from its End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA for its Lead IMNN-001 Clinical Program in Advanced Ovarian Cancer

On November 25, 2024 IMUNON, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMNN), a clinical-stage company in late-stage development with its DNA-mediated immunotherapy, reported the outcome of its recent End-of-Phase 2 in-person meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), supporting the advancement of its investigational interleukin-12 (IL-12) immunotherapy IMNN-001 for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer into a Phase 3 pivotal study (Press release, IMUNON, NOV 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234648610]). IMUNON remains on track to initiate the 500-patient Phase 3 trial in the first quarter of 2025.

"The collaborative End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA represents another important milestone in our IMNN-001 clinical program, and we are very pleased that the Agency is aligned with the potential for IMNN-001 to address a significant unmet need in ovarian cancer treatment and our Phase 3 plans," said Stacy Lindborg, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of IMUNON. "We are encouraged by the robust safety and efficacy data from our Phase 2 OVATION 2 Study, including the positive survival results recently presented in a late-breaking session at the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. IMNN-001 is the first immunotherapy to achieve a clinically effective response in ovarian cancer, including benefits in both progression-free and overall survival in frontline treatment."

"Our goal is to replicate these remarkable results in a Phase 3 trial, which would be transformative for the current standard of care, substantially improving overall survival and giving hope to thousands of women with advanced ovarian cancer who continue to experience disease progression," Dr. Lindborg added.

The interaction with the FDA included an extensive review of data generated to date, including positive results from the recently completed Phase 2 OVATION 2 Study, which assessed IMNN-001 (100 mg/m2 administered intraperitoneally weekly) plus neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) of paclitaxel and carboplatin compared to standard-of-care NACT alone in 112 patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer. The OVATION 2 Study results demonstrated that IMNN-001 immunotherapy plus standard-of-care chemotherapy resulted in approximately a one-year (35%) improvement in overall survival compared to treatment with standard-of-care chemotherapy alone. Treatment was also generally well tolerated, with no reports of cytokine release syndrome or any other serious immune related adverse events.

About IMNN-001 Immunotherapy

Designed using IMUNON’s proprietary TheraPlas platform technology, IMNN-001 is an IL-12 DNA plasmid vector encased in a nanoparticle delivery system that enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein. IL-12 is one of the most active cytokines for the induction of potent anticancer immunity acting through the induction of T-lymphocyte and natural killer cell proliferation. IMUNON previously reported positive safety and encouraging Phase 1 results with IMNN-001 administered as monotherapy or as combination therapy in patients with advanced peritoneally metastasized primary or recurrent ovarian cancer and completed a Phase 1b dose-escalation trial (the OVATION 1 Study) of IMNN-001 in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer.

About Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the sixth deadliest malignancy among women in the U.S. There are approximately 20,000 new cases of ovarian cancer every year and approximately 70% are diagnosed in advanced Stage III/IV. Epithelial ovarian cancer is characterized by dissemination of tumors in the peritoneal cavity with a high risk of recurrence (75%, Stage III/IV) after surgery and chemotherapy. Since the five-year survival rates of patients with Stage III/IV disease at diagnosis are poor (41% and 20%, respectively), there remains a need for a therapy that not only reduces the recurrence rate, but also improves overall survival. The peritoneal cavity of advanced ovarian cancer patients contains the primary tumor environment and is an attractive target for a regional approach to immune modulation.