On August 12, 2024 Halda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of cancer therapies called RIPTACTM (Regulated Induced Proximity TArgeting Chimeras) therapeutics, reported that it has raised new financing of $126 million in a Series B extension, including funding from new investors Deep Track Capital, Frazier Life Sciences, RA Capital Management, Vida Ventures, Boxer Capital and Taiho Ventures, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Access Biotechnology, Elm Street Ventures, and Connecticut Innovations (Press release, Halda Therapeutics, AUG 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234645756]). Including this financing, Halda has raised $202 million to date from investors.

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Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance two RIPTAC candidates into clinical trials for patients with prostate cancer and breast cancer, initially in the metastatic setting where drug resistance to standard of care is prevalent. Halda’s lead RIPTAC therapeutic, HLD-0915, is expected to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in the first half of 2025 for the treatment of patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The financing will also support the clinical development of a second RIPTAC therapeutic for metastatic breast cancer. In addition, the funding will enable the company to further build its team and to develop additional products using its RIPTAC platform to address other indications with unmet need.

"We are excited to have the support of this leading group of new healthcare investors who share our vision to be a cancer drug innovator. This financing will enable us to bring to patients our oral, selective, and widely applicable cancer cell-killing mechanism that is designed to overcome drug resistance, which is a major shortcoming of many current standard of care cancer treatments," said Kat Kayser-Bricker, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Halda Therapeutics. "Our team of talented scientists has made tremendous progress, from inventing the RIPTAC modality to translating our platform into two promising programs in prostate cancer and breast cancer, with our first drug candidate entering the clinic in the first half of 2025 for mCRPC patients."

The RIPTAC modality, now advancing into clinical trials with this financing, has been designed by Halda as a heterobifunctional molecule that targets two proteins for a novel cancer cell-killing mechanism to address a specific cancer type. RIPTAC therapeutics work by a novel "hold and kill" mechanism, bringing together two proteins – a cancer-specific protein and a protein with essential function – resulting in abrogation of the essential cell function, and subsequently, death of the cancer cells while sparing non-cancer tissue where the cancer-specific protein is absent or minimally expressed.

"Novel mechanisms are desperately needed to address resistance to standard of care therapies across a number of tumor types. RIPTAC therapies offer an ability to selectively kill cancer cells based on differential protein expression in orally bioavailable medicines. This innovation has the potential to treat both advanced cancer patients with heterogeneous resistance adaptations, as well as patients with earlier stages of disease. We look forward to working with Halda scientists and clinicians to deliver novel therapies to improve outcomes for cancer patients," said Joe Cabral, Principal at Frazier Life Sciences.

"The team at Halda is creating a new era for oncology treatment with a groundbreaking modality, RIPTAC therapeutics, including medicines that have the potential to deliver solutions for cancer patients beginning with two of the most prevalent cancer types, prostate cancer and breast cancer. In particular, Halda’s lead RIPTAC candidate, HLD‑0915, offers the potential for a mutation-agnostic small molecule approach in the mCRPC setting to address unmet needs for these prostate cancer patients globally," said Arjun Goyal, MD, Co‑Founder and Managing Director, Vida Ventures.

In conjunction with this financing, Rebecca Luse, Principal at Deep Track Capital, Joe Cabral, Principal at Frazier Life Sciences, Nandita Shangari, PhD, Managing Director at RA Capital Management and Arjun Goyal, MD, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Vida Ventures, will join the Halda Board of Directors.

On August 12, 2024 Aethlon Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEMD), a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases, reported that, on August 6, 2024, the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee (BHREC) granted full ethics approval to the Pindara Private Hospital for a safety, feasibility and dose-finding clinical trial of the Hemopurifier in patients with solid tumors who have stable or progressive disease during anti-PD-1 monotherapy treatment, such as Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) or Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) (AEMD-2022-06 Hemopurifier Study) (Press release, Aethlon Medical, AUG 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234645755]). The approval is valid for one year, until August 6, 2025. The trial will be conducted by Dr. Marco Matos and his staff at the Pindara Private Hospital, located in Queensland, Australia.

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"We are quite pleased that the BHREC accepted our responses to their thoughtful questions during their review and determined that our study meets the requirements of the National Statement application. Dr. Matos and his research team have a proven track record of enrollment in device trials in oncology patients that provides momentum to these trials," stated Steven LaRosa, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Aethlon Medical. "This is the second ethics committee approval we have received for our oncology trial in Australia after receiving approval from the ethics committee for Royal Adelaide Hospital in June."

Dr. LaRosa continued, "The next step is to receive approval from the Research Governance Office at each hospital which reviews indemnities and insurance. Once these approvals are obtained, Aethlon, in concert with our Australian Contract Research Organization, ReSQ, will conduct Site Initiation Visits (SIVs), after which patient enrollment may proceed."

Currently, only approximately 30% of cancer patients who receive pembrolizumab or nivolumab treatment for solid tumors will have lasting clinical responses to these agents. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced by tumors have been implicated in resistance to anti-PD-1 therapies as well as the spread of cancers. The Aethlon Hemopurifier has been designed to bind and remove these EVs from the bloodstream, which may improve therapeutic response rates to anti-PD-1 antibodies. In preclinical studies, the Hemopurifier has been shown to reduce the number of exosomes in cancer patient plasma samples.

The primary endpoint of the approximate nine to 18-patient, safety, feasibility and dose-finding trial is safety. The trial will monitor any adverse events and clinically significant changes in lab tests of Hemopurifier treated patients with solid tumors with stable or progressive disease at different treatment intervals, after a two-month run in period of PD-1 antibody, Keytruda or Opdivo monotherapy. Patients who do not respond to the PD-1 therapy will be eligible to enter the Hemopurifier period of the study, where sequential cohorts will receive 1, 2 or 3 Hemopurifier treatments during a one-week period. In addition to monitoring safety, the study is designed to examine the number of Hemopurifier treatments needed to decrease the concentration of EVs and if these changes in EV concentrations improve the body’s own natural ability to attack tumor cells. These exploratory central laboratory analyses are expected to inform the design of a subsequent efficacy and safety, Premarket Approval (PMA), study required by regulatory agencies.

On August 12, 2024 Biosyngen reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its BRG01, an EBV-specific CAR-T cell therapy, to proceed with a pivotal Phase lI clinical trial (Press release, BioSyngen, AUG 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234645754]). This marks the first cell therapy to enter Phase lI trials in both the U.S. and China for the treatment of relapsed/metastatic EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma, demonstrating a breakthrough in solid tumor treatment.

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The Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medicinal Product Administration (NMPA) in China had previously granted approval for the pivotal Phase II clinical trial of BRG01. Patient enrollment for the Phase I clinical trial in China and the U.S. began in late January this year, with all participants having completed the BRG01 infusion. The Phase I study has successfully concluded dose-limited toxicity (DLT) observation and efficacy evaluation in nine patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had at least one prior immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment, including PD-1 antibodies.

Preliminary data indicates that BRG01 demonstrates exceptional safety and preliminary efficacy. All patients are late-stage cancer patients failing standard treatment including checkpoint inhibitors. BRG01 is well tolerated and expanded in patient with no dose-limiting toxicity. More efficient disease control and tumor shrinkage effects were observed with dose escalation. 75% patients in the high dose group showed necrosis and metabolic reduction of tumor lesions as determined by PET-CT.

Biosyngen aims to expedite BRG01’s clinical development and commercial availability, offering new hope for nasopharyngeal cancer patients worldwide. This FDA’s approval underscores BRG01’s potential in tumor and anti-viral therapies and recognizes Biosyngen’s innovation and R&D capability in cellular immunotherapy.

Biosyngen has established itself as a leading biotech with a portfolio of cell therapies, including CAR-T, TCRT, and TIL, addressing various solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The company’s multiple products have been granted approval to proceed with Phase I/II clinical trials in the U.S. and China, targeting a range of solid tumors such as lung and liver cancer.

Looking ahead, with Biosyngen’s efficient execution and rapid development progress, the company anticipates further clinical breakthroughs in solid tumor cell therapies, providing new treatment options and hope for patients.

On August 12, 2024 Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global, integrated biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing and commercializing both first- and best-in-class therapies for malignancies, reported that it has been cleared by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to initiate a registrational Phase III study of lisaftoclax (APG-2575), one of the company’s key drug candidates, in combination with azacitidine (AZA) for the first-line treatment of newly-diagnosed patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (Press release, Ascentage Pharma, AUG 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234645753]). This clears the fourth registrational Phase III study of lisaftoclax, marking another major milestone in the clinical development of the drug.

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This study (GLORA-4) is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, pivotal registrational Phase III trial to evaluate the efficacy of lisaftoclax in combination with AZA in newly-diagnosed adult patients with higher-risk MDS.

As a heterogeneous myeloid clonal disease originating from hematopoietic stem cells, MDS commonly occurs in older population with a median age of onset of 70 years and an incidence rate that increases with age.1 MDS is characterized by the abnormal growth of myeloid cells. Its clinical manifestations include hematopoietic failure, refractory cytopenia, and the propensity for high-risk patients to progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Data show that approximately 10% of low-risk patients and 50% of high-risk patients with MDS would progress to AML and thereafter face a dismal prognosis.2

At present, there are limited treatment options for patients with MDS and the treatment outcome for most patients remains relatively poor. Demethylation agents (AZA or decitabine) are the current standard first-line treatment for patients with higher-risk MDS. Studies showed that compared to conventional care regimens, monotherapy with AZA can improve the overall survival of patients with MDS.3 Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only available curative treatment for MDS. However, the complex characteristics of MDS and the old ages of patients have resulted in the intolerability of chemotherapies that limited the rate of transplantation, and the high rate of transplantation-associated mortality among patients with MDS. The low survival rate of patients with higher-risk MDS underscores an urgent unmet medical need for novel therapies and medicines that can offer higher efficacies.

Lisaftoclax is a novel, orally administered Bcl-2 selective inhibitor being developed by Ascentage Pharma to treat the patients with malignancies by selectively blocking the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 and hence restoring the normal apoptosis process in cancer cells. Lisaftoclax is expected to be the first Bcl-2 inhibitor for which an NDA will be filed for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/ small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) in China and the second anywhere globally that has demonstrated clinical activity for the treatment of patients with CLL and entered pivotal registrational studies. In published clinical results released at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, the drug candidate lisaftoclax has demonstrated clinical benefit and tolerability in patients with higher-risk MDS.4

"There is considerable unmet clinical need for patients with MDS. Lisaftoclax, a Bcl-2 inhibitor, has already shown promising clinical benefit and tolerability in early studies in patients with MDS," said Dr. Yifan Zhai, Chief Medical Officer of Ascentage Pharma. "We are very encouraged by this approval for initiation of the registrational Phase III study in the first-line treatment of patients with higher-risk MDS, as it clears the way for the fourth registrational Phase III study of lisaftoclax. Fulfilling our mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world, we will actively press ahead with the clinical trials of lisaftoclax for the benefit of more patients."

*Lisaftoclax is an investigational drug that has not been approved in any country or region.

On August 12, 2024 Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, reported its novel Nectin-4 targeting ADC (R&D code: 9MW2821) has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that has failed previous platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-(L)1 inhibitor therapy (Press release, Mabwell Biotech, AUG 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234645752]).

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The designation as a breakthrough therapy is aimed at expediting the development process of drug candidates for serious diseases, with the drug candidates included having demonstrated significant efficacy or safety advantages compared to existing therapies in early clinical trials.

For drug candidates included in the breakthrough therapy list, CDE will prioritize the allocation of resources to facilitate communication and provide guidance to promote drug development, which will benefit the further advancement of the clinical development progress and the speed of market review and approval. This will help to expedite the development process of 9MW2821 and meet the unmet clinical needs of Chinese patients.

About 9MW2821

9MW2821 is the first site-specific conjugated novel Nectin-4 targeting ADC developed by Mabwell using ADC platform, and is the first drug candidate to enter clinical study among the Nectin-4-targeting ADCs developed by Chinese companies, and also the first therapeutic drug candidate targeting Nectin-4 in the world to reveal clinical efficacy data of cervical cancer (CC), esophageal cancer (EC) and breast cancer. In 2024, 9MW2821 has been granted Fast Track Designation by FDA for the treatment of advanced, recurrent, or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), recurrent or metastatic CC progressed on or following prior treatment with a platinum-based chemotherapy regimen, and locally advanced or metastatic Nectin-4 positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); 9MW2821 has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by FDA for the treatment of EC, and also Breakthrough Therapy Designation by China NMPA.

9MW2821 achieves site-specific modification of antibody through proprietary conjugation technology linkers and optimized ADC conjugation process. After injection, 9MW2821 can specifically bind to Nectin-4 on the cell membrane surface, be internalized and release cytotoxic drug, and induce the apoptosis of tumor cells.