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Scopus BioPharma’s Subsidiary — Duet Therapeutics — Set to Release Scientific Data During the 17th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society

On September 28, 2021 Scopus BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: "SCPS"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformational therapeutics for serious diseases with significant unmet medical need, reported that Duet Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scopus, will release scientific data during the 17th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society. The meeting will conclude on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.

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Alan Horsager, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Duet and President — Immuno-Oncology of Scopus, will present DUET-01: Bispecific Oligonucleotide Targeting TLR9 and STAT3 Signaling for B Cell Lymphoma Immunotherapy as part of Session VIII: Oligonucleotide Preclinical I.

Dr. Horsager has also presented Bifunctional Oligonucleotides for Systemic Treatment of Immunologically Cold Solid Tumors as an Industry Talk.

Duet has also released a video depicting the mechanism of action for its proprietary CpG-STAT3 inhibitors, which can be viewed here, to coincide with Duet’s presentations at the OTS Meeting.

About the Duet Platform

Duet Therapeutics integrates the immunotherapy assets of Scopus and Olimmune, creating the Duet Platform. Olimmune was acquired by Scopus in June 2021. Duet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scopus.

The Duet Platform is comprised of three distinctive, complementary CpG-STAT3 inhibitors:

• RNA silencing CpG-STAT3siRNA ("DUET-01")
• Antisense CpG-STAT3ASO ("DUET-02")
• DNA-binding inhibitor CpG-STAT3decoy ("DUET-03")
DUET-01 is in a Phase 1 clinical trial, as a monotherapy, for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Duet expects to file two INDs for DUET-02 in Q4 2022 in genitourinary and head & neck cancers, with clinical Phase 1 trials beginning in Q1 2023 in the United States. Duet is also evaluating combination therapies with checkpoint inhibitors.

MannKind Corporation to Participate at Lytham Partners Fall 2021 Investor Conference

On September 28, 2021 MannKind Corporation (Nasdaq: MNKD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products for patients with endocrine and orphan lung diseases, reported that it will be participating at the Lytham Partners Fall 2021 Investor Conference on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 at 11:45 am (ET) (Press release, Mannkind, SEP 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234590369]). Presenting from the Company will be its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Castagna, PharmD.

Interested parties can access a link to the live webcast of the presentations from the Events & Presentations section of the Company’s website at View Source The webcast replay may be accessed at the same location for 14 days following the live presentation.

Kineta Announces Poster Presentation at the 2021 American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy

On September 28, 2021 Kineta, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immunotherapies in oncology, reported that it will present a poster on the company’s new anti-CD27 agonist antibody program at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, to be held on October 5-6, 2021 (Press release, Kineta, SEP 28, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kineta-announces-poster-2021-aacrc [SID1234590368]).

Title: A promising cancer immunotherapy target: Novel fully human agonist antibodies against the human T-cell costimulatory receptor CD27
Date Poster Available: October 5, 2021

Artios Doses First Patient in Phase 1/2a Study of Pol? Inhibitor ART4215

On September 28, 2021 Artios Pharma Limited (Artios), a leading biotech company pioneering the development of novel small molecule therapeutics that target the DNA Damage Response process in order to treat patients suffering from a broad range of cancers, reported it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 1/2a study with its polymerase theta (Polθ) inhibitor, ART4215 (Press release, Artios Pharma, SEP 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234590357]). The Polθ project was originally in-licensed from Cancer Research UK in 2016 as part of the initial formation of Artios.

The open label, multi-center study will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and clinical activity of ART4215 administered orally as a monotherapy and in combination with other anticancer medicines in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The study will enroll up to 206 patients and will be conducted at multiple oncology centers across the USA and Europe. The trial is led by principal investigators Erika P. Hamilton, M.D., Director of the Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Research Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology, and Timothy Yap, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics and Medical Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Interim safety and tolerability data is expected in 2022. Full details can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT04991480.

Dr. Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer at Artios, said: "The initiation of our Phase 1/2a study is an important milestone for Artios and the DNA Damage Response field in general, launching the first evaluation of a specifically designed Polθ inhibitor in the clinic. Polθ is an important tumor-specific DDR target which we believe has the potential to exploit certain genetic vulnerabilities of cancer cells with defective DNA repair processes, while sparing healthy tissue. We have brought forward to the clinic a new and exciting inhibitor class where preclinical data shows the possible clinical utility that a potent, selective Polθ inhibitor may have as a single agent in patients who have progressed on PARP inhibitors, in combination with PARP inhibition in PARPi naïve patients and in combination with DNA damaging therapies such as ionizing radiation and cytotoxic chemotherapy. The progress of ART4215 supports Artios’s approach to leverage our internal expertise in identifying promising new DDR targets, developing novel molecules, working with our collaborators at Cancer Research UK, and advancing these molecules into the clinic. It has been a very productive year at Artios with the execution of our $153M Series C financing in July and now the expansion of our clinical pipeline, building upon our ongoing clinical development of ART0380, an ATR inhibitor, and our collaborations with Merck KGaA and Novartis."

Principal Investigator for the trial, Dr. Erika P. Hamilton, Director of the Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Research Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology, said: "I am encouraged by the preclinical data for ART4215 that demonstrates the molecule’s potential to address areas of high unmet need such as overcoming de novo and acquired resistance to PARP inhibitors and DNA damaging therapy. We look forward to advancing these important studies for an entirely new class of inhibitors for patients who need more effective treatment options."

ART4215 is the first selective, orally bioavailable, small molecule inhibitor of the Polθ polymerase domain to enter the clinic. Polθ, a DNA polymerase, is a tumor-specific DDR target involved in microhomology mediated end joining (MMEJ) that is overexpressed in many tumors and found in low levels in healthy tissue. Extensive preclinical studies have demonstrated that ART4215 has broad potential clinical utility, as described in Artios’s recent Nature Communications publication, Zatreanu et al., 2021.

New startup Aglaia Therapeutics raises €4M in seed funding to overcome resistance in oncology targeted therapies

On September 27, 2021 Aglaia Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup developing promising new therapies that can overcome resistance to current targeted therapies in cancer patients, reported the successful completion of a €4M ($4.7M) seed funding round (Press release, Ribonexus, SEP 27, 2021, https://ribonexus-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2021-09-27_Aglaia-Therapeutics-EN-FINAL.pdf [SID1234628870]). Advent France Biotechnology (AFB) led the round, with the participation of Crédit Mutuel Innovation and Pierre Fabre. AFB also acted as co-founder, with Alejo Chorny, current operating partner at AFB, now appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Aglaia Tx. Leading European cancer centers Institut Curie and Gustave Roussy participated in the creation of the company.

The proceeds of the funding will be used to prepare the preclinical development program required to identify the first candidate. Aglaia Tx aims to develop promising new oncology therapies with the goal of delivering best- and first- in class drugs that can restore sensitivity to current targeted therapies in cancer patients that became resistant to these treatments. The company established a pipeline of small molecules in oncology targeting the initiation of mRNA translation.

While targeted therapies have clearly improved cancer patient outcomes, global efficacy of these treatments decreases over time, with patients rapidly developing resistance to therapies. Moreover, even with therapies that lead to a complete response, small populations of cancer cells often survive treatments, driving cancer relapse, which remains one of the most challenging obstacles to effective treatments.

"Our goal is to dramatically improve the standard of care in cancer patients; by restoring sensitivity and avoiding resistance to current targeted therapies. We have assembled a strong team of drug developers, scientists and investors," said Alejo Chorny, COO of Aglaia Therapeutics. "With this seed investment, Aglaia Therapeutics is extremely well positioned to advance its preclinical programs in the coming years and select its first innovative program."

"Aglaia Tx is a good example of our entrepreneur-investor approach and we firmly believe that its work opens up the possibility of tackling relapses, one of the main unmet medical needs in cancer treatment today," said Matthieu Coutet, managing partner at AFB. "We are thrilled to bring together two leading European cancer institutes, Gustave Roussy and Institut Curie; to collaborate on this unique startup creation aimed at overcoming resistance in oncology targeted therapies."

A collaboration between Aglaia Therapeutics, Gustave Roussy, Institut Curie and the University of Strasbourg, for the validation of targets involved in certain types of cancer, will allow the startup to keep working with the research and clinical teams of Pr Caroline Robert, Dr Stéphan Vagner and Dr Laurent Desaubry.