Curium Announces Pylclari® – an Innovative 18F-PSMA PET Tracer Indicated in Patients With Prostate Cancer – is now available in Spain

On September 10, 2024 Curium, a world leader in nuclear medicine, reported that in Spain, PYLCLARI is now available for patients with prostate cancer (Press release, Curium Pharma, SEP 10, 2024, View Source [SID1234646470]). PYLCLARI (INN: Piflufolastat (18F) also known as (18F)-DCFPyL) is indicated for the detection of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions with positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with prostate cancer in the following clinical settings:

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Primary staging of patients with high-risk prostate cancer prior to initial curative therapy
To localize recurrence of prostate cancer in patients with a suspected recurrence based on increasing serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after primary treatment with curative intent
Benoit Woessmer, PET Europe CEO at Curium commented, "The availability of PYLCLARI in Spain is an important milestone for patients with prostate cancer and underscores our dedication to improving the choice of diagnostic PET radiopharmaceuticals. As we continue to redefine the experience of cancer through our trusted legacy in nuclear medicine, we are proud that the availability of PYLCLARI continues to grow and now covers seven countries including Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain."

In Spain, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men with around 30,000 new cases diagnosed nationwide every year. PYLCLARI is being produced by Curium at two sites in Madrid and one site in Sevilla, ensuring timely and efficient distribution across the country.

Corvus Pharmaceuticals Initiates Registrational Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Soquelitinib for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

On September 10, 2024 Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported that it has initiated a registrational Phase 3 clinical trial of soquelitinib for patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) (Press release, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, SEP 10, 2024, View Source [SID1234646469]). The clinical trial is a randomized, controlled study that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of soquelitinib compared to standard of care chemotherapy.

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"The initiation of the soquelitinib Phase 3 trial for relapsed PTCL is an important milestone for Corvus and for patients suffering with this disease," said Richard A. Miller, M.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. "Soquelitinib has a unique mechanism of action based on selective ITK inhibition, which we believe has potential for the treatment of T cell lymphomas, as well as for solid tumors and a broad range of immune diseases."

The clinical trial (NCT06561048) is designed to enroll approximately 150 patients with relapsed/refractory PTCL who have failed one to three prior lines of therapy. Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 200mg dose of soquelitinib two-times a day or standard of care chemotherapy with either belinostat or pralatrexate. The primary endpoint of the clinical trial is progression-free survival and secondary endpoints include overall survival, objective response rate, and duration of response. The trial is expected to enroll patients at approximately 40 sites in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea.

"We are excited to participate in this Phase 3 trial evaluating a new therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory PTCL," said Swaminathan P. Iyer, M.D., principal investigator of the study and Professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "In earlier stage trials, soquelitinib has been well-tolerated and has demonstrated durable anti-tumor activity in patients with very advanced disease. Soquelitinib’s novel mechanism of action results in enhancement of the host anti-tumor response. In general, chemotherapy drugs have not produced lasting remissions and are sometimes associated with significant toxicity. There has been a scarcity of new ideas for the treatment of PTCL and we are eager to see if soquelitinib can offer these patients a more effective and safer treatment."

C4 Therapeutics Announces Delivery of Second Development Candidate to Biogen

On September 10, 2024 C4 Therapeutics, Inc. (C4T) (Nasdaq: CCCC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing targeted protein degradation science, reported it has successfully delivered a second development candidate to Biogen and earned an $8 million milestone payment (Press release, C4 Therapeutics, SEP 10, 2024, View Source [SID1234646468]). This marks the final development candidate under this strategic collaboration.

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"We are thrilled to deliver a highly catalytic, brain penetrant orally bioavailable BiDAC degrader development candidate to Biogen in their pursuit of discovering, developing and delivering innovative therapies that improve the lives of patients," said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer. "It is rare that discovery collaborations deliver one, much less two, development candidates to the partner. This result is a testament to the dedication of the Biogen and C4T teams and the productivity of our TORPEDO platform, which has demonstrated its potential to design innovative degraders against a broad range of target classes. Since our founding in 2015, we have discovered and advanced four development candidates for our clinical pipeline and delivered two development candidates to Biogen, an impressive feat for a company of our size. We are proud to continue advancing the exciting field of targeted protein degradation and bring new medicines to patients."

Under the terms of the strategic collaboration established in 2018, C4T provided expertise and research services in targeted protein degradation and Biogen provided scientific and drug development capabilities. Biogen is responsible for all future clinical development and commercialization for development candidates delivered under the collaboration. Previously, C4T earned an $8 million payment in April 2024 after Biogen accepted delivery of a first development candidate in an undisclosed indication as part of this collaboration.

BriaCell Announces Positive Pre-IND Meeting with FDA for Bria-PROS+™ for Prostate Cancer

On September 10, 2024 BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: BCTX, BCTXW) (TSX: BCT) ("BriaCell" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops novel immunotherapies to transform cancer care, reported that it has received positive feedback from its Pre-IND meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is a step forward to opening an IND to conduct a Phase 1/2 study of its personalized off-the-shelf immunotherapy, Bria-PROS+, in advanced prostate cancer (Press release, BriaCell Therapeutics, SEP 10, 2024, View Source [SID1234646467]).

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"We were truly impressed by the FDA team of experts’ keen interest in Bria-PROS+ as a potential novel personalized approach for advanced prostate cancer," stated Dr. William V. Williams, BriaCell’s President and CEO. "Despite numerous approved drugs, prostate cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men. We view the FDA’s positive feedback as a major step forward in the clinical development of our Bria-PROS+ and in our efforts to bring hope to patients and families suffering from this deadly disease."

As a result of the Pre-IND meeting, FDA waived the animal toxicology and animal pharmacokinetic (PK) studies requirement for opening the IND, greatly simplifying the development pathway for Bria-PROS+. Other areas of discussion included BriaCell’s plan to initiate the Phase 1/2 study pending completion of standard manufacturing and testing requirements. These interactions also inform the further development of the proprietary Bria-OTS+ platform as the company pursues the development of Bria-BRES+, Bria-LUNG+ and Bria-MEL+, for breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma, respectively.

BriaCell is currently evaluating its personalized immunotherapy Bria-BRES in a phase 1/2a study in metastatic breast cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06471673).

BeyondSpring Delivers Oral Presentation at ISLAC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer of its Lead Anti-Cancer Asset Plinabulin Showcasing Positive Final Phase 3 Data in 2L/3L NSCLC EGFR Wild-Type with Concurrent Publication in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine

On September 10, 2024 BeyondSpring Inc. (NASDAQ: BYSI) ("BeyondSpring" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative cancer therapies, reported Dublin-3 final phase 3 efficacy data of its late clinical-stage agent Plinabulin in combination with docetaxel in second/third line (2L/3L) advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type (Press release, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, SEP 10, 2024, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beyondspring-delivers-oral-presentation-at-islac-2024-world-conference-on-lung-cancer-of-its-lead-anti-cancer-asset-plinabulin-showcasing-positive-final-phase-3-data-in-2l-3l-nsclc-egfr-wild-type-with [SID1234646466]). The lead principal investigator, Dr. Trevor Feinstein from Piedmont Cancer Institute, presented the data in an oral presentation (OA08.04) at ISLAC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer on September 9th 2024 in San Diego, CA. Concurrently, Dublin-3 study was published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine (View Source(24)00178-4).

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Docetaxel remains the standard of care for patients with 2L/3L NSCLC without targetable alterations despite severe neutropenia (>40%) that greatly impair patients’ quality of life. Six recent phase 3 studies in patients with EGFR wild-type NSCLC who were previously treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors failed to show overall survival (OS) benefit compared with docetaxel (SAPPHIRE, LEAP-008, CONTACT01, EVOKE-01, CARMEN-LC03, and CANOPY-2). Two phase 3 studies (LUNAR and TROPION-Lung01) showed positive but mixed outcomes compared with docetaxel.

The DUBLIN-3 study was a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled patients from 58 medical centers internationally. For the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, 559 patients received either docetaxel plus plinabulin (n=278 [male 199, female 79]) or docetaxel plus placebo (n=281 [male 207, female 74]).

Key findings of Dublin-3 study are summarized below:

Favorable benefit/risk ratio: Significant improvement in OS (Hazard ratio or HR=0.82; same HR in the Western vs. Asian patients), PFS (HR=0.79) and ORR (nearly doubled). Durable anti-cancer benefits in doubling 24-months and 36-months OS rates. And 82% relative reduction in Grade 4 neutropenia in Cycle 1 Day 8 (p<0.0001).
Consistent OS benefit in 24-month follow up after the database lock: OS HR=0.81 in the ITT population, with better OS benefit in the non-squamous subset (OS HR=0.72, p=0.0078). For the non-squamous subset patients, median OS (mOS) in plinabulin/docetaxel arm was 11.4 months vs. 8.8 months in the docetaxel arm, with a mOS benefit of 2.6 months.
Improved OS benefit with more cycles of treatment (≥ 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 cycles): for patients who used at least 4 cycles of treatment, OS HR=0.64, p=0.0027, with a mOS benefit of 4.8 months (plinabulin/docetaxel arm n=133; docetaxel arm n=127).
Plinabulin/docetaxel combination is well-tolerated: Treatment-emergent adverse-events occurred in 273/274 (99·6%) of patients in the plinabulin group and 276/278 (99·3%) in the control group. Higher incidences of Grade 3/4 gastrointestinal disorders (46 patients [16·8%] vs. 8 [2·9%]) and transient Grade 3 hypertension (50 patients [18·2%] vs. 8 [2·9%]) occurred in the plinabulin vs. control group.
"There is a poor prognosis for NSCLC patients without targetable alterations whose disease has progressed on platinum-based therapies. Unfortunately, multiple high-profile phase 3 studies failed to show overall survival benefit in this hard-to-treat population compared to standard of care docetaxel, a drug approved over 20 years ago. The data from DUBLIN-3 study demonstrates that the addition and proper sequencing of plinabulin to docetaxel has a favorable benefit/risk ratio compared with docetaxel alone and may have broad utility. This combination could be considered as a new treatment option for this population with high unmet medical needs", said Dr. Feinstein, a lead principal investigator of the DUBLIN-3 study at Piedmont Cancer Center, Atlanta.

Citation:

Han B., et al. Plinabulin plus docetaxel versus docetaxel in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer after disease progression on platinum-based regimen (DUBLIN-3): a phase 3, international, multicentre, single-blind, parallel group, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2024 Sep 09: S2213-2600(24)00178-4.

About Plinabulin

Plinabulin is a novel first-in-class dendritic cell maturation agent with durable anti-cancer benefit observed across multiple clinical studies. As a reversible binder at a distinct tubulin pocket, plinabulin does not change tubulin dynamics or antagonize tubulin stabilizing agents, such as docetaxel, which contributes to its differentiated activity and tolerability compared to other tubulin binders. In addition, plinabulin significantly reduces chemotherapy induced neutropenia and could thereby increase docetaxel tolerability. Over 700 patients have been treated with plinabulin with good tolerability.

About Dublin-3 Study
DUBLIN-3 is a multicenter, single-blinded (patient) and randomized, phase 3 trial in 58 medical centers (US, China, and Australia). Only patients with EGFR wild-type NSCLC who had progressed after first-line platinum-based therapy were enrolled. Patients were randomized (1:1) to receive docetaxel (75 mg/m2) on Day 1 and either plinabulin (30 mg/m2) or placebo on Days 1 and 8 in 21-day cycles until progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal, or death. Treated patients were included in the safety analysis and ITT population in the primary efficacy analyses (NCT02504489). The primary endpoint for the study was OS, and secondary endpoints were PFS, ORR, Duration of Response (DoR), Grade 4 neutropenia and Quality of Life.