On September 25, 2018 Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLRB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to CLR 131, the company’s lead Phospholipid Drug Conjugate (PDC) product candidate, for the treatment of pediatric osteosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer (Press release, Cellectar Biosciences, SEP 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234530174]). CLR 131 also received Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for osteosarcoma, as announced by the company on September 17, 2018.
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!
"Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary bone cancer occurring most frequently in children. Currently, there are no commercially available drugs for pediatric sarcoma, including osteosarcoma," said John Friend, M.D., chief medical officer of Cellectar. "This orphan designation for osteosarcoma is the fourth such designation granted by the FDA to CLR 131 for the treatment of rare pediatric cancers in the last six months, and we look forward to evaluating CLR 131 in these deadly and underserved diseases."
The FDA grants ODD to therapies targeting conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. The designation provides seven-year market exclusivity, increased engagement and assistance from the FDA, tax credits for certain research, research grants and a waiver of the New Drug Application user fee. In 2018 the FDA also granted CLR 131 orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations for the treatments of neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma.
Cellectar plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating CLR 131 for the treatment of pediatric patients with osteosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, high-grade glioma and lymphomas. The trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CLR 131 in pediatric patients with these cancer types. Further details about the trial can be found at clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier number NCT03478462.
About Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma derives from bone forming mesenchymal, or connective tissue, cells and is the most commonly diagnosed primary bone malignancy among children and adolescents. The incidence is about 4.4 cases per 1 million per year in children younger than 24 years. While there is a 70% cure rate among patients with localized disease, 5-year overall survival rates are approximately 20% for among patients who develop metastatic disease. Additionally, among patients who experience disease progression or recurrence survival for is less than 30%.
About CLR 131
CLR 131 is Cellectar’s investigational radioiodinated PDC therapy that exploits the tumor-targeting properties of the company’s proprietary phospholipid ether (PLE) and PLE analogs to selectively deliver radiation to malignant tumor cells, thus minimizing radiation exposure to normal tissues. CLR 131 is in a Phase 2 clinical study in R/R MM and a range of B-cell malignancies and a Phase 1b clinical study in patients with R/R MM exploring fractionated dosing. The objective of the multicenter, open-label, Phase 1b dose-escalation study is the characterization of safety and tolerability of CLR 131 in patients with R/R MM. Patients in Cohorts 1-4 received single doses of CLR 131 ranging from 12.5 mCi/m2 to 31.25 mCi/m2 as well as a fractionated dose of 15.625 mCi/m2 given twice over seven days in Cohort 5. All study doses and regimens have been deemed safe and well tolerated by an independent Data Monitoring Committee. The company is currently initiating a Phase 1 study with CLR 131 in pediatric solid tumors and lymphoma, and is planning a second Phase 1 study in combination with external beam radiation for head and neck cancer.