On June 2, 2021 Porton Biologics Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Portonbio) reported a strategic cooperation with Nanjing KAEDI Biotech, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as KAEDI). Portonbio will offer CMC services for KAEDI’s CAR-T cell therapies with its end-to-end CDMO platform for gene and cell therapies to help accelerate their development process (Press release, Porton Biopharma, JUN 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234583427]).

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According to the agreement, Portonbio, as an exclusive CDMO partner, will provide KAEDI with CMC services for multiple CAR-T projects, including the process development and manufacturing of plasmids, viral vectors and CAR-T cells and IND filling (CMC part) support services. The indication of the first project of our collaboration, KD-025 CAR-T, is liver cancer and glioma. The results of its preclinical research have been published in the leading international journal of tumor immunotherapy and ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) (American Society of Clinical Oncology). At present, a multi-center clinical trial of KD-025 CAR-T POC is being carried out and a number of cases of clinical infusion have been completed with no obvious toxicities and side effects being observed. At the same time, the product is being applied for IND at home and abroad.

Dr. Hongjiu Dai, Chairman and CEO of KAEDI, said: "We are very pleased to have a strategic cooperation with Portonbio. KAEDI has successfully developed a pipeline of several CAR-T new drug candidates for malignant solid tumors. We believe that Portonbio’s excellent technical team and professional CDMO platform can help KAEDI quickly and efficiently promote the drug candidates in our pipeline and accelerate the development process of our cell therapy drugs."

"We are very honored to contribute to KAEDI’s innovative research in the field of cell therapy", said Mr. Nianfeng Ju, Chairman and CEO of Portonbio, "Portonbio has established an integrated CDMO service platform for plasmids, viral vectors and cell therapy products, and has an experienced expert team and unique technical advantages. We hope to accelerate the marketing process of KAEDI CAR-T products through this cooperation, jointly promote the breakthrough of cell therapy products in the field of solid tumor, and enable the patients’ early-access to the therapies."

On June 2, 2021 BERG, a clinical-stage biotech that employs patient biology and artificial intelligence (AI) to research diseases and develop innovative treatments, reported results from a recently completed Phase 1 study of its investigational drug, BPM 31510 (novel ubidecarenone formulation) in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) (Press release, Berg, JUN 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234583426]). The study will be presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) from June 4 – June 8, 2021, defining the details on identification of molecular analytes in plasma, buffy coat and urine and unveiling pathways to potentially predict clinically relevant responses to BPM 31510 in GBM patients undergoing treatment.

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"At BERG, we want to remove the stigma that brain cancer is a death sentence," said Dr. Niven R. Narain, CEO, President and Co-founder of BERG. "The limited drugs available today may not work for a patient’s unique biological footprint. The results from our study offer hope to patients, and hold promise for BERG’s BPM 31510, solving a serious unmet need in medicine today."

GBM is the most aggressive, malignant primary brain tumor, averaging 12-18 months of survival time upon diagnosis with only 25% of GBM patients surviving more than one year. Today, GBM-related tumors account for 17% of all tumors of the brain, and tend to occur between the ages of 45 and 70.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Seema Nagpal, M.D. Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Lawrence Recht, M.D., Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, both of Stanford University School of Medicine, in addition to other Stanford Medicine researchers and in collaboration with BERG.

Details of the BERG presentation:

Session title

Abstract title

Presenters

Dates

Central Nervous System Tumors

2059: Comprehensive molecular pharmacodynamic assessment identifies response markers of intermediary metabolism associated with BPM 31510-IV treatment in advanced glioblastoma multiforme patients

Seema Nagpal, Rangaprasad Sarangarajan, Can Bruce, Greg M Miller, Leonardo O Rodrigues, Punit Shah, Richard Searfoss, Kennedy Ofori-Mensa, Vladimir Tolstikov, Bennett Greenwood, Valerie Bussberg, Michael A. Kiebish, Elder Granger, Niven R. Narain, Lawrence David Recht; Stanford University, Stanford, CA; Berg LLC, Framingham, MA

June 4, 2021 – June 8, 2021

Digital Program:

E-Poster

The Abstract is available online: View Source, and the Poster will be available to registered 2021 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Virtual Scientific Program attendees starting Friday, June 4th.

In its commitment to serve patients afflicted with cancer, BERG has collaborated on other projects with leading institutions like MD Anderson Cancer Institute (clinical trials) and Harvard/BIDMC (Project Survival), among others.

On June 2, 2021 Sysmex Inostics, Inc., a global leader in the liquid biopsy revolution for oncology, reported that it is presenting the poster entitled, "Ultra-sensitive detection and quantification of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in the plasma of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) enrolled in the OPTIMA 2 treatment de-escalation trial" at the 2021 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, June 4-8, 2021 (Press release, Sysmex Inostics, JUN 2, 2021, View Source;301303731.html [SID1234583425]). The featured data show that SafeSEQ cfHPV-DNA Test (HPV-SEQ) exhibits robust quantitative detection of cell-free HPV DNA (cfHPV-DNA) across a broad dynamic range, enabling high-resolution monitoring for patients with HPV+ OPSCC, a type of head and neck cancer. The ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) presentation coincides with the launch of HPV-SEQ as the newest CLIA validated assay in the Sysmex Inostics portfolio of ultra-sensitive SafeSEQ NGS panels.

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HPV 16 and HPV 18 are the two most common high-risk HPV strains, and persistent infections can lead to HPV-related cancers, including cervical, anal, and head and neck cancers. HPV driven tumors are increasing in prevalence, especially in patients presenting with head and neck cancer.1 cfHPV-DNA can be measured in patients’ plasma as a non-invasive surrogate of tumor burden and can facilitate precise tracking of disease response throughout treatment.

Sysmex Inostics has introduced HPV-SEQ, an ultra-sensitive blood-based liquid biopsy solution for identifying and accurately quantifying circulating HPV 16 and HPV 18 DNA in patients with HPV-related cancers.

As patients with HPV-driven tumors often have a good prognosis, clinical investigators have recently explored new strategies for treatment de-escalation to avoid unnecessary side-effects caused by overtreatment. Important clinical data for HPV-SEQ was generated during the recent OPTIMA 2 phase II trial (NCT03107182) investigating induction chemoimmunotherapy followed by risk/response stratified de-escalated locoregional therapy for patients with HPV+ OPSCC. During the trial, HPV-SEQ was employed to evaluate levels of cfHPV-DNA alongside patients’ radiographic response to therapy in order to assess the future utility in guiding treatment de-escalation strategies. HPV-SEQ showed robust quantitative detection of HPV 16/18 across a broad dynamic range over five orders of magnitude with low quantitative variability. Importantly, a high correlation was observed between dynamic changes in patients’ cfHPV DNA levels and radiographic responses following induction therapy.

"HPV-SEQ exhibits robust quantitative detection of HPV, even when only a few copies are present, thus potentially enabling precise molecular monitoring of patients’ therapy response," said Dr. Nishant Agrawal, Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago. Dr. Agrawal added, "We see the HPV-SEQ test becoming an important tool for refining patient treatment strategies and accelerating the development of novel de-escalation approaches for the treatment of HPV-associated OPSCC."

Poster number 6048, "Ultra-sensitive detection and quantification of HPV DNA in the plasma of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) enrolled in the OPTIMA 2 treatment de-escalation trial," presented by Hillary Sloane, PhD, Associate Director of Medical & Scientific Affairs at Sysmex Inostics, will be available June 4 through June 8, 2021 during the 2021 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

Currently, HPV-SEQ is being used in prospective studies to further evaluate the kinetics of cfHPV-DNA as a predictor of response to therapy in patients with HPV+ OPSCC and other HPV-related cancers. HPV-SEQ is CLIA-validated and available to support clinical trials through the Sysmex Inostics turnkey testing service in their CLIA lab located in Baltimore, Maryland.

1. Van Dyne EA, Henley SJ, Saraiya M, Thomas CC, Markowitz LE, Benard VB. Trends in Human Papillomavirus–Associated Cancers — United States, 1999–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:918–924.

On June 2, 2021 Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX), a clinical-stage targeted oncology company, reported that it will take part in a fireside chat at the 42nd Annual Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference, which will be webcast on June 9 (Press release, Mirati, JUN 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234583424]). Charles M. Baum, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, will answer questions about the company at 3:50 p.m. E.T./12:50 p.m. P.T.

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The webcast will be available through the "Investors" section of the Mirati website, Mirati Investor Events and Presentations, and a replay of the webcast will be made available for 90 days following the event.

On June 2, 2021 QBiotics Group Limited (QBiotics), a life sciences company developing novel small molecule anticancer and wound healing pharmaceuticals, reported that it has dosed the first patient in the Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial of the company’s lead oncology molecule, tigilanol tiglate in combination with MSD’s immune checkpoint inhibitor KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for patients with unresectable melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer (Press release, QBiotics, JUN 2, 2021, View Source;msd-clinical-trial-collaboration-for-unresectable-melanoma-301304596.html [SID1234583423]).

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The QB46C-H06 multi-centre, open label study will enrol approximately 22 patients with Stage IIIB to IV M1c-melanoma across a number of Australian sites over 24 months. The study will test up to three intratumoural doses of tigilanol tiglate at three escalating dose levels, administered 3 weeks apart in combination with intravenous pembrolizumab administered every 3 weeks for up to 24 months. The study will evaluate the safety, optimal dose and tumour response of the tigilanol tiglate and pembrolizumab combination in patients with late-stage unresectable melanoma, who have been previously exposed to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Dr Victoria Gordon, Managing Director and CEO of QBiotics, said "We are very pleased to be collaborating with MSD in the fight against melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer prevalent worldwide, but especially so here in Australia.

Dr Gordon continued "Patients with unresectable melanoma who have received prior checkpoint inhibitors currently have limited effective treatment options. We hope to see that when combined, tigilanol tiglate and KEYTRUDA may produce additive anti-tumour immune responses, improving outcomes for patients."

Over the last decade, the global cases of melanoma have increased by nearly 50 percent, with more than 320,000 people diagnosed annually. This translates to approximately 60,000 melanoma-related deaths per year[1]. Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world, with one person diagnosed every 30 minutes, and an estimated 1,300 deaths each year.[2]

Tigilanol tiglate is a plant-derived small molecule, administered by injection directly into a solid tumour. Injected tumours are rapidly destroyed by tumour cell necrosis, vascular disruption, and immune-mediated mechanisms.[3] Pembrolizumab is a systemic immune checkpoint inhibitor, which reactivates the immune system by blocking the activity of PD-1, an immune checkpoint protein that prevents T cells from recognising and killing cancer cells.[4]

"The commencement of this trial with our first patient dosed is a significant milestone for QBiotics and is underpinned by positive outcomes from our Phase I QBC46-H01 Phase I study using tigilanol tiglate as a monotherapy in 22 patients with a broad range of refractory solid tumours. In this Phase I study a single injection of tigilanol tiglate showed an injected tumour response rate of 60% (CR of 20%, PR of 28%, SD of 12%).[5] Non-injected (abscopal) responses in distal tumours were observed in two patients with melanoma[6]," said Dr Gordon.

ABOUT TRIAL NCT04834973

A Phase Ib/IIa, multicentre, open label, dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary effectiveness of intratumoural tigilanol tiglate in combination with intravenous pembrolizumab in adult patients with unresectable, Stage IIIB to IV M1c melanoma.

The primary objectives are 1. To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or maximum feasible dose (MFD) level of a single intratumoural injection of tigilanol tiglate administered in combination with intravenous pembrolizumab (200 mg), and 2. To assess the safety and tolerability of i) A single injection of tigilanol tiglate at escalating dose levels (dose-escalation) administered in combination with pembrolizumab; and ii) Repeat injections of tigilanol tiglate (maximum of 3) administered in combination with pembrolizumab. Secondary objectives include tumour responses according to RECIST 1.1 criteria, including loco-regional control of injected tumour(s) and non-injected tumour(s), and survival in patients. For more information, visit View Source