On October 20, 2022 Promontory Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company advancing small molecule immunotherapies in oncology, reported the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering therapeutic applications of its lead compound, PT-112, as an immuno-modulatory agent, both as a monotherapy and in combination with other immunotherapy approaches (Press release, Promontory Therapeutics, OCT 20, 2022, View Source [SID1234622215]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

PT-112 has been validated as a highly potent immunogenic cell death (ICD) inducer in peer-reviewed publications in the journals OncoImmunology and Cancers, and in presentations at major research forums including the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) and ENA annual conferences. PT-112’s ICD property involves the release of so-called damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that bind with and activate dendritic cells, leading to trafficking of activated T cells to the tumor microenvironment. PT-112 is currently in three Phase 2 clinical trials: for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; thymic epithelial tumors; and in combination with PD-L1 checkpoint inhibition for non-small cell lung cancer.

"As an immunogenic small molecule, PT-112 has the potential to play an important role in overcoming areas of immunotherapy drug resistance, which continues to limit effective treatment options for patients," said Promontory President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Fallon. "This U.S. patent issuance underscores our approach to oncologic small molecule immunotherapies along with our robust clinical pipeline assessing PT-112 alone and in immunotherapy combination."

The patent, titled "Phosphaplatin Compounds as Immuno-Modulatory Agents and Therapeutic Uses Thereof," was issued on Sept. 13, 2022 as U.S. Patent No. 11,439,619 B2.

For more information about Promontory Therapeutics’ clinical pipeline visit www.PromontoryTx.com.

About PT-112

PT-112 is the first small-molecule conjugate of pyrophosphate in oncology, and possesses a unique pleiotropic mechanism of action that promotes immunogenic cell death (ICD), through the release of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that bind to dendritic cells and lead to downstream immune effector cell recruitment in the tumor microenvironment. PT-112 represents a highly potent inducer of this immunological form of cancer cell death. Further, PT-112 harbors a property known as osteotropism, or the propensity of the drug to reach its highest concentrations in certain areas of the bone, making it a candidate for treatment of patients with cancers that originate in, or metastasize to, the bone. The first in-human study of PT-112 demonstrated an attractive safety profile and evidence of long-lasting responses among heavily pre-treated patients and won "Best Poster" within the Developmental Therapeutics category at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2018 Annual Congress. The combination Phase 1b dose escalation study of PT-112 with PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor avelumab in solid tumors was reported in an oral presentation at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Congress. The Phase 1 study in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) is the third completed Phase 1 study of PT-112. Monotherapy Phase 2 development is ongoing in mCRPC, and now includes the Phase 2 proof of concept study in thymic epithelial tumors under the company’s formal collaboration with the NCI. The PD-L1 combination Phase 2a study in a dose confirmation cohort of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients will be presented at the 2022 ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Immuno-Oncology conference.