On September 21, 2018 BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly-targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported its preliminary results from the Phase 1 trial of its investigational BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib in Chinese patients with B-cell lymphoma in an oral presentation at the 21st Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) in Xiamen, China (Press release, BeiGene, SEP 21, 2018, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2368471 [SID1234529513]).
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"We continue to be encouraged by clinical data on zanubrutinib, including these results, which we believe support its broad global clinical development. Our recent new drug application filing for zanubrutinib in China for patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a type of B-cell lymphoma, is currently under review by the National Medical Products Administration of China, and we are hopeful that it will give patients in China, and across the world, a new treatment option where it is so greatly needed," said Jane Huang, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Hematology, at BeiGene.
Summary of Preliminary Results from the Phase 1 Trial of Zanubrutinib in Chinese Patients with B-Cell Lymphoma
An ongoing Phase 1 trial of zanubrutinib as a monotherapy in patients with different subtypes of B-cell malignancies, including Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and other non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL), is being conducted in China. The trial is fully enrolled and comprised of two parts – a dose escalation phase involving 21 patients and a dose-expansion phase of 23 patients treated with zanubrutinib at the recommended Phase 2 dose of 160 mg taken orally twice daily.
Preliminary findings suggested that there was no significant difference in the pharmacokinetic profile of zanubrutinib between Chinese and non-Chinese patients. Preliminary findings also showed complete or greater than 80 percent sustained BTK occupancy was achieved among these patients with both single- and multiple-dose administrations.
As of June 15, 2018, after a median follow-up of 9.5 months (2.3 months–23.4 months), 21 patients (47%) remained on treatment. With 44 patients enrolled in the trial, 34 were evaluable for response. Of the nine patients with CLL/SLL, the overall response rate (ORR) was 100 percent, with two complete responses (CRs), six partial responses (PRs), and a PR with lymphocytosis (PR-L). Of the two patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), there was one CR and one stable disease (SD). Of the two patients with WM, there was one PR and one SD. Of the 26 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), the ORR was 42 percent with two CRs and nine PRs. There were three patients with FL who were not evaluable at the time of the data cutoff. Of the five patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), there were three SDs and two patients who were not evaluable.
At the time of data cutoff, no dose-limiting toxicities occurred during dose escalation portion of the trial and there were no unexpected safety signals identified in the trial. No deaths related to adverse events were observed in the trial. The most common adverse events (occurring in ≥ 20% of patients) of any attribution among all 44 patients were neutrophil count decreased (50%), anemia (32%), upper respiratory tract infection (25%), white blood cell count decreased (25%), platelet count decreased (23%), rash (23%), hematuria (20%), and hyperuricemia (20%).
"These preliminary safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics data of zanubrutinib support its ongoing clinical study. In this study, the preliminary results suggest zanubrutinib has a high rate of activity and is generally well-tolerated, which we believe is based on its potency and high-degree of selectivity," said Jun Zhu, M.D., Medical Department Chief at the Beijing Cancer Hospital and study presenter.
About B-Cell Lymphomas
Lymphoma is a diverse group of malignancies that originates from B, T or NK cells. The most common type of B-cell lymphomas are non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, of which diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common. Other types of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma include FL, CLL/SLL, MCL, MZL, and WM.
About Zanubrutinib
Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) is an investigational small molecule inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) that is currently being evaluated in a broad pivotal clinical program globally and in China as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies to treat various B-cell malignancies.