On January 7, 2016 Apogenix, a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation immuno-oncology therapeutics, reported that the first milestone of its licensing agreement with CANbridge Life Sciences for the development and commercialization of lead immuno-oncology candidate APG101 in China, Macao, and Hong Kong has been reached, triggering a milestone payment. In addition, Apogenix and CANbridge have signed an amendment to expand the licensed territories to include Taiwan (Press release, Apogenix, JAN 7, 2016, View Source [SID1234524583]). Apogenix will continue to develop APG101 in all other territories.

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An initial biomarker study conducted by CANbridge in Chinese glioblastoma patients revealed a high degree of CD95 ligand expression and confirmed the expression pattern seen in Apogenix’ phase II proof of concept trial in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. APG101 is a CD95 ligand inhibitor which restores the immune response against tumors and inhibits invasive tumor cell growth. In Apogenix’ phase II trial, glioblastoma patients expressing a certain biomarker associated with the CD95 ligand experienced the greatest benefit from treatment with APG101. The median overall survival rate in biomarker-positive patients treated with APG101 more than doubled to 16 months compared to patients treated with radiotherapy alone.

"We are very pleased with CANbridge’s progress and the achievement of the first milestone ahead of schedule," said Thomas Hoeger, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Apogenix. "Based on the commitment demonstrated by CANbridge and the excellent collaboration throughout our partnership, we have expanded the licensed territories to include Taiwan. We look forward to CANbridge initiating a phase I/II trial with APG101 in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma patients in Taiwan in the second half of this year."

On January 7, 2016 OncoResponse, an immuno-oncology antibody discovery company, and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University reported a collaboration to identify antibodies against novel targets in elite responders to cancer immunotherapy (Press release, OncoResponse, JAN 7, 2016, View Source [SID1234516435]). The agreement provides OncoResponse with access to OHSU patient samples in two cancer indications, prostate cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), for immune repertoire screening to identify antibodies with exceptional reactivity from patients who have elite responses to cancer immunotherapies.

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"By interrogating the humoral response of patients who have responded exceptionally well to immunotherapy, we can identify rare cancer-fighting antibodies and novel targets that may lead to the development of improved cancer treatments," said Clifford J. Stocks, CEO of OncoResponse. "This collaboration will allow us access to invaluable patient sample sets that will undoubtedly be instrumental to the understanding of the immune response to cancer."

Using a validated platform technology to rapidly screen antibodies made by the human immune system, OncoResponse scientists will identify those with exceptional reactivity and leverage this knowledge to identify potential targets for novel therapeutic development. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"We are deeply committed to the development of improved cancer treatments for patients in need," said Tomasz Beer, M.D., deputy director, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. "This collaboration will provide valuable data that will allow us to develop a better understanding of what makes certain treatments successful and will inform the development of new therapies that have the potential to significantly impact patients’ lives."

On January 7, 2016 Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. reported that Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: JUNO) have entered into an exclusive license agreement for a novel, fully-human binding domain targeting MUC16 to be used for the potential development and commercialization of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) cell therapies for patients with MUC16 positive cancers, including ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers (Press release, Eureka Therapeutics, JAN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:SID1234515201]). The binder was developed under a collaboration agreement between Eureka Therapeutics and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

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"We are excited that Juno Therapeutics, a leader in CAR and TCR technologies, will pursue the development of this binding domain as a CAR cell therapy," said Dr. Cheng Liu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eureka Therapeutics. "CAR cell therapy has shown promising potential for treating hematologic malignancies, and Eureka is working to accelerate the potential of the technology in a broader array of patients by developing antibodies that can recognize solid tumor antigens with the stringency required for CAR immunotherapy."

"We are pleased to enter into this agreement, as we continue to pursue the development of fully-human binding domains, with the goal of optimizing cell persistence and potential patient benefit of our engineered cells," said Mark Frohlich, M.D., Juno’s Executive Vice President, Development and Portfolio Strategy. "We opened a Phase I trial for our MUC16/IL-12 armored CAR product candidate in 2015, and if the safety and efficacy results are promising, this collaboration will allow us to more rapidly transition from the current murine binding domain to a fully-human binding domain."

Under the terms of the exclusive license agreement, Memorial Sloan Kettering granted Juno Therapeutics an exclusive, worldwide license, under both Memorial Sloan Kettering’s and Eureka’s rights to certain MUC16 binding domains, to develop and commercialize the MUC16 binding domains as part of CAR cell therapies for all indications. In return, Memorial Sloan Kettering will receive an upfront payment and potential future payments upon achievement of certain development, regulatory, and sales milestones, and annual net sales royalty payments. Pursuant to the collaboration agreement between Eureka and Memorial Sloan Kettering, Eureka will receive a portion of these payments from Memorial Sloan Kettering. Juno will fund additional development and commercialization activities.

On January 7, 2016 CANbridge Life Sciences reported that it has completed a biomarker study in Chinese patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) for expression of CD95 ligand, the target of its first candidate for clinical development, CAN008, also known as APG101 (Press release, CANbridge Life Sciences, JAN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510067]). The study demonstrated a high degree of CD95 ligand expression consistency between geographically-diverse Chinese and Western GBM patients. CAN008 is a fully-human fusion protein that inhibits the CD95 ligand, a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. By blocking the CD95 ligand, CAN008 restores the immune response against tumors and inhibits invasive tumor cell growth.

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Based on this confirmatory biomarker study, CANbridge plans to initiate a CAN008 Phase I/II study in newly-diagnosed GBM in Taiwan and expects to dose the first patient in the second half of 2016. In other news, CANbridge announced that it has expanded the licensed territories from Germany’s Apogenix (www.apogenix.com), which is developing APG101 in all other territories, to include Taiwan. In July, CANbridge entered into an exclusive license agreement with Apogenix to develop, manufacture and commercialize APG101 in GBM, with options for other indications, in China, Hong Kong and Macao. Both companies are privately-held.

"The study showing the correlation between Western and Chinese biomarker expression validates our belief that CAN008 is a strong candidate for glioblastoma treatment development in Taiwan and other Chinese territories," said Mark Goldberg, MD, CANbridge Chief Medical Officer and practicing hematologist and oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. "In a Phase II study conducted in Europe, CAN008 showed an improved overall survival benefit in patients with relapsed glioblastoma, especially among patients who expressed the CD95 ligand."

"The results from the biomarker study pave the way for us to advance to our first clinical trial in Asia, executing on our mission to bring promising Western drug candidates to underserved Chinese markets," said James Xue, CANbridge Chairman and CEO. "Brain cancer mortality rates are among the ten highest cancer death rates in China, where the treatment options are even more limited than in the West. We look forward to initiating one of the first immuno-oncology clinical treatment programs in China for this deadly cancer.

On January 7, 2016 BioInvent International (OMXS: BINV) reported that the FDA has completed the safety review of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application and have concluded that the proposed pediatric clinical investigation can proceed (Press release, BioInvent, JAN 7, 2016, http://www.bioinvent.com/media-centre/press-releases/release/?ReleaseID=9BA3A7EAD4A9883F [SID:1234508694]). The IND application is for a Phase I/IIa study that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of TB-403 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory medulloblastoma. This is a rare, life-threatening brain tumor that mainly affects children.

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The study, which is planned to commence in Q1 2016, will be conducted at a number of specialist centers in the United States. Initial results from the study are expected by early 2017.

TB-403 is a humanized monoclonal antibody against placental growth factor (PlGF) which is expressed in several types of cancer, including medulloblastoma. High expression of the PlGF receptor neuropilin 1 has been shown to correlate with poor overall survival. Treatment with TB-403 in pre-clinical models for medulloblastoma has demonstrated beneficial effects on tumor growth and survival. The antibody can potentially be used in other pediatric cancer indications, including neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma or alveolar rhabdomysarcoma.

A favourable safety profile of TB-403 has been demonstrated in previous clinical trials in healthy volunteers and adult patients with various types of solid tumors.

"We are delighted that the FDA has accepted our IND for TB-403. This is a milestone for commencing the phase I/IIa study evaluating TB-403 in rare pediatric brain cancers according to plans communicated in December 2015. The study will be conducted at an attractive cost and efficacy signals in patients will provide opportunities to approach the FDA regarding expedited approval. TB-403 may in this scenario get a rapid pathway to launch," says Michael Oredsson, CEO of BioInvent.

The TB-403 drug project is conducted in cooperation with Oncurious, a subsidiary of the Belgian biopharma company ThromboGenics. BioInvent is paying half of the development costs and has the right to 40 percent of all future revenue from the project.