iBio Expands Tech Stack with EngageTx™; Adds TROP-2 Bispecific to Development Pipeline

On June 6, 2023 iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) ("iBio" or the "Company") reported the expansion of its AI-powered technology stack with the launch of EngageTx, a proprietary T-cell engager antibody panel designed for developing bispecific antibodies for immuno-oncology applications (Press release, iBioPharma, JUN 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234632513]). Through comprehensive screening and optimization techniques, iBio has identified highly potent, fully human TROP-2 (Trophoblast Cell Surface Antigen 2) monoclonal antibodies, which have been formatted into bispecific TROP-2 x CD3 molecules using EngageTx.

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EngageTx comprises a robust array of CD3-binding antibodies, designed to be paired with tumor-targeting antibodies, such as TROP-2. This combination yielded a potent bispecific molecule that effectively mobilizes T-cells to unleash their anti-cancer capabilities against malignant cells. While iBio discovered the panel earlier this year, the Company is now deploying it internally, as well as offering it for use in potential future commercial partnerships.

"By strategically employing bispecific antibodies targeting TROP-2, we aim to stimulate the immune system for treating TROP-2-positive cancers, offering potential advantages over existing therapies," said iBio’s Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Martin Brenner, DVM, Ph.D. "The generation of a highly potent TROP-2 bispecific with reduced cytokine release offers validation of our technology and its differentiated capabilities. We look forward to harnessing EngageTx to enrich our pipeline and offering this tremendous potential resource to prospective partners."

TROP-2 is highly expressed in multiple solid tumors, including breast, lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers and is closely linked to metastasis and tumor growth. TROP-2 antibody drug conjugates have been developed to deliver toxic payloads to these cancer cells but could risk harming healthy cells and cause adverse effects. The Company’s bispecific approach has the potential to increase the therapeutic window, while promoting a robust and long-lasting anti-tumor response. Combining the bispecific TROP-2 approach with immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors can potentially lead to improved clinical outcomes.

"Developing bispecifics is notoriously challenging," said Matt Greving, Ph.D., VP & Head of Machine Learning & Platform Technologies at iBio. "EngageTx is an important addition to iBio’s tech stack and demonstrates the power of our patented, AI-guided epitope engineering and StableHu antibody optimizer technologies, which were used to build EngageTx."

Features of the EngageTx panel include:

Broad range of T-cell activity for optimized pairing with diverse tumor antigen arms;
Reduced cytokine release for potentially expanded therapeutic window; and
Human-primate cross reactivity to facilitate molecule de-risking in safety studies.

GSK receives US FDA file acceptance for Jemperli (dostarlimab) plus chemotherapy for the treatment of dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer

On June 6, 2023 GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) reported the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Jemperli (dostarlimab) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer (Press release, GlaxoSmithKline, JUN 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234632512]). If approved in this patient population, dostarlimab plus chemotherapy could represent the first meaningful frontline treatment advancement in decades for patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

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The FDA granted Priority Review for this application and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of 23 September 2023. Dostarlimab also was recently granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for this potential new indication.

Under Project Orbis, an initiative from the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence that provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology products among international partners, the dostarlimab sBLA will be reviewed by health authorities in the US, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology Development, GSK said: "We are excited about this initial filing for this potential new indication for dostarlimab in the patient population that demonstrated the strongest treatment effect in the phase III RUBY trial. Long-term outcomes for patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer remain poor, and there is an urgent need to evolve the current standard of care, which is platinum-based chemotherapy. We look forward to working with the FDA and other health authorities as they review this application."

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecologic cancer in developed countries,[1] and there are about 60,000 new cases of endometrial cancer diagnosed every year in the US.[2] Approximately 15-20% of patients with endometrial cancer will be diagnosed with advanced disease at the time of diagnosis.[3][4] An estimated 20-29% of all endometrial cancers are dMMR/MSI-H.[5] Chemotherapy used alone is the current standard of care for primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and many patients eventually experience disease progression.[6]

Currently, in endometrial cancer, dostarlimab is approved in the US as monotherapy in dMMR recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer that has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing regimen. If the sBLA is approved, dostarlimab could potentially be indicated earlier in treatment in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

The sBLA is based on the prespecified interim analysis results from Part 1 of the RUBY/ENGOT-EN6/GOG3031/NSGO phase III trial. The trial met its primary endpoint of investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS), which demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit in patients treated with dostarlimab plus carboplatin-paclitaxel in the dMMR/MSI-H population and in the overall population. The data reflect a robust median duration of follow-up of ≥24.8 months. The safety and tolerability analysis from RUBY showed a safety profile for dostarlimab and carboplatin-paclitaxel that was generally consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual agents. These data were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Virtual Plenary and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on 27 March 2023, and were simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Part 1 of the RUBY trial continues to assess the dual-primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population. At the first interim analysis in the ITT population, a clinically meaningful OS trend was observed among patients receiving dostarlimab plus chemotherapy followed by dostarlimab. The OS analysis was done at 33% maturity and statistical significance was not reached.

In April, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) validated GSK’s marketing authorisation application for dostarlimab plus chemotherapy for the treatment of dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

About RUBY
RUBY is a two-part global, randomised, double-blind, multicentre phase III trial of patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Part 1 is evaluating dostarlimab plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab versus carboplatin-paclitaxel plus placebo followed by placebo. Part 2 is evaluating dostarlimab plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab plus niraparib versus placebo plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by placebo. The dual-primary endpoints in Part 1 are investigator-assessed PFS based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours v1.1 and overall survival (OS). The statistical analysis plan included pre-specified analyses of PFS in the dMMR/MSI-H and intent-to-treat (ITT) populations and OS in the overall population. Pre-specified exploratory analyses of PFS in the mismatch repair proficient (MMRp)/microsatellite stable (MSS) population and OS in the dMMR/MSI-H populations were also performed. RUBY Part 1 included a broad population, including histologies often excluded from clinical trials and had approximately 10% of patients with carcinosarcoma and 20% with serous carcinoma. In Part 2, the primary endpoint is investigator-assessed PFS. Secondary endpoints in Part 1 and Part 2 include PFS per blinded independent central review, overall response rate, duration of response, disease control rate, patient-reported outcomes, and safety and tolerability.

About Jemperli (dostarlimab)
Jemperli is a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)-blocking antibody that binds to the PD-1 receptor and blocks its interaction with the PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2.[7]

In the US, Jemperli is indicated for adult patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer, as determined by a US FDA-approved test, that has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing regimen in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation. Jemperli is also indicated in the US for patients with dMMR recurrent or advanced solid tumours, as determined by a US FDA-approved test, that have progressed on or following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options. The latter indication is approved in the US under accelerated approval based on tumour response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication in solid tumours may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial(s).

Jemperli was discovered by AnaptysBio, Inc. and licensed to TESARO, Inc., under a collaboration and exclusive license agreement signed in March 2014. The collaboration has resulted in three monospecific antibody therapies that have progressed into the clinic. These are: Jemperli (GSK4057190), a PD-1 antagonist; cobolimab, (GSK4069889), a TIM-3 antagonist; and GSK4074386, a LAG-3 antagonist. GSK is responsible for the ongoing research, development, commercialisation, and manufacturing of each of these medicines under the agreement.

Genmab to Participate in a Fireside Chat at the Goldman Sachs 44th Annual Global Healthcare Conference

On June 6, 2023 Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) reported that its Chief Financial Officer Anthony Pagano will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs 44th Annual Global Healthcare Conference in Dana Point, CA, 11:20 AM PDT on June 13, 2023 (2:20 PM EDT / 8:20 PM CEST) (Press release, Genmab, JUN 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234632511]). A webcast of the fireside chat will be available on Genmab’s website at View Source

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Defence Begins Testing it’s Arm Vaccine Against Pancreatic Cancer

On June 6, 2023 Defence Therapeutics Inc. ("Defence" or the "Company"), a Canadian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of immune-oncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies reported that it mandated Transbiotech Biotechnology Research and Transfer Center to initiate testing its cellular anti-cancer ARM vaccine against deadly pancreatic cancer (Press release, Defence Therapeutics, JUN 6, 2023, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=defence-begins-testing-its-arm-vaccine-against-pancreatic-cancer [SID1234632509]).

Using the AccumTM technology, Defence developed a ground-breaking approach to convert the innate suppressive mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) into potent antigen presenting cells capable of mounting an effective anti-tumoral response against solid tumors. Defence tested this vaccine using various in vivo animal models including solid T-cell lymphoma and melanoma. The vaccine was consistently effective against these models and cured 80-100% of treated animals, whereby the tumor completely regressed.

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Based on these impressive data, Defence contracted Transbiotech Biotechnology Research and Transfer Center, to test the potency of its ARM vaccine in animals with pre-established pancreatic tumors. The study will consist of using the lysate of the Pan02 cell line (serving as a source of tumor antigens) mixed with the A1 dimer prior to in vitro pulsing MSCs. The final ARM vaccine will then be administered to allogeneic animals in combination with the anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitor.

"This study should demonstrate the potency of Defence’s ARM vaccine at treating the deadly pancreatic cancer for which standard of care has failed and to confirm the versatility of this off-the-shelf universal vaccine. Therefore, developing a cancer vaccine capable of eradicating this disease will be a major leap in the global fight against cancer. A successful treatment of pancreatic cancer with the ARM vaccine would certainly widen the application of this therapy to other "hard to treat" cancers," says Mr. Plouffe, CEO and president of Defence.

TransBIOTech was founded in 1999 with the mandate to lead innovations and support Canadian biotech businesses. It provides access to state-of-the-art biotechnological expertise in life sciences to rapidly support and accomplish project goals in accordance with internationally recognized quality standards.

According to Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. For all stages combined, the 5-year survival rate is 12%.

Cogent Biosciences Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

On June 6, 2023 Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: COGT), a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases, reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of $125 million of shares of its common stock (Press release, Cogent Biosciences, JUN 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234632508]). In addition, Cogent has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $18.75 million of shares of its common stock. All of the shares of common stock in the offering are being offered by Cogent.

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Cogent intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for development, regulatory and commercial preparation activities relating to bezuclastinib and other product candidates, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Piper Sandler & Co. and Guggenheim Securities, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. LifeSci Capital is also acting as lead manager for the offering.

The securities described above will be offered pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement (File No. 333-269707) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 10, 2023.

A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC. The final terms of the offering will be disclosed in a final prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC. The securities described above have not been qualified under any state blue sky laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. The offering can be made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by request to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at 866-803-9204, or by email at [email protected]; Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by telephone at 877-821-7388, or by email at [email protected]; Piper Sandler & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, or by telephone at (800) 747-3924, or by email at [email protected]; or Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison, New York, New York 10017, or by telephone at 212 518-9544, or by email at [email protected].