On September 12, 2017 Polaris Group reported that its lead therapeutic ADI‑PEG 20 (pegylated arginine deiminase) demonstrated a good safety profile and an efficacy signal as monotherapy in a phase 2 trial in relapsed/refractory or poor-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, as reported in the journal Scientific Reports (Press release, Polaris Pharmaceuticals, SEP 12, 2017, View Source [SID1234526282]). The study was conducted at multiple sites in Taiwan and at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the US.
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!
Among the 21 evaluable patients enrolled in this study, two patients had complete response to the treatment, with response duration of 7.5 and 8.8 months. Seven patients had stable disease in response to the treatment. The treatment appeared to be safe and well tolerated.
"Based on the encouraging efficacy signal from this ADI‑PEG 20 monotherapy study, we have initiated a phase 1 trial combining ADI‑PEG 20 with low-dose cytarabine in poor-risk AML patients," said John Bomalaski, M.D., Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs at Polaris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
About ADI‑PEG 20
ADI‑PEG 20 is a biologic being developed by Polaris Group to treat cancers carrying a major metabolic defect that renders them unable to internally synthesize arginine. Because arginine is essential for protein synthesis and survival of cells, these cancer cells become dependent upon the external supply of arginine to survive and grow. ADI‑PEG 20 is designed to deplete the external supply of arginine, causing arginine-dependent cancer cells to die while leaving the patient’s normal cells unharmed. Multiple cancers have been reported to have a high degree of arginine-dependency and can potentially be treated with ADI‑PEG 20.