On June 3, 2023 Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. ("Intensity"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of proprietary, novel immune-based intratumoral (IT) cancer therapies designed to kill tumors and increase immune system recognition of cancers, reported that data from its ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial demonstrating the efficacy and tolerability of INT230-6, either as monotherapy or in combination with ipilimumab in patients with relapsed, refractory and metastatic sarcomas, will be presented this afternoon at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting being held in Chicago and virtually from June 2-6, 2023 (Press release, Intensity Therapeutics, JUN 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234632422]).
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Abstract Title: Intratumoral INT230-6 (Cisplatin, Vinblastine, SHAO) alone or with ipilimumab (IPI) prolonged survival with favorable safety in adults with refractory sarcomas [Intensity IT-01; BMS#CA184-592].
Presenter/First Author: Christian F. Meyer, MD, Johns Hopkins Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center
Session Title: Sarcoma
Poster Session Date and Time: Saturday, June 3, 2023, 1:15 PM – 4:15 PM EDT
Location: Exhibit Hall
Abstract Number: 11568
Poster number: 502
Copies of the presentation materials are available on Intensity’s website on the publications, papers and posters page.
Sarcoma remains a very challenging cancer to treat and has historically proven resistant to checkpoint blockade. Novel approaches are needed for this patient population, and Intensity’s data indicate that sarcoma is an attractive target for intratumoral injection. Christian Frederick Meyer, M.D., Ph.D., M.S. Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University is an investigator for Intensity’s phase 1/2 clinical trial and the presenter of the data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper). Dr. Meyer has placed a number of his sarcoma patients into the study. INT230-6 has demonstrated significant survival prolongation and continues to be of great interest to a sarcoma oncologists, such as Dr. Meyer, especially given the data on immune ignition, as sarcoma is considered non-immunogenic and therefore largely unresponsive to immunotherapies.
"The prolonged survival of nearly 450 days compared to what would be expected in such a severe sarcoma patient population is a testament to the strength of our novel drug’s potency," stated Lewis H. Bender, President and Chief Executive Officer of Intensity. "Causing significant tumor necrosis, immune infiltrates, uninjected tumor shrinkage and prolonged survival provides strong proof-of-concept evidence of our drug’s mechanism of action and underscores the potential of INT230-6 to help metastatic sarcoma patients. As recent data readouts demonstrate, there remains a high unmet need for new therapeutic approaches to treat metastatic cancers in general. With that in mind, we have discussed our next steps with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, drafted a protocol and look forward to advancing INT230-6 into a phase 3 trial for sarcoma patients."
Efficacy in subjects administered INT230-6, with or without ipilimumab, were compared to a synthetic control. The poster reports the median overall survival (mOS) and disease control rate (DCR equals the cases of stable disease, partial response and complete response divided by number of subjects) per the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Abscopal responses for INT230-6 alone were observed primarily in subjects dosed ≥ 40% of their total tumor burden (TTB). The DCR for the all-treated population (those who received at least one dose of INT230-6) was 93% for monotherapy and 86% for the ipilimumab combination. For the combination arm, one subject had yet to reach the first timepoint for SD at the time of data cut-off.
Study IT-01 was without a randomized control group; however, published clinical phase 1/2 basket trials in sarcoma report mOS ranging from 7.6 to 9.6 months (Jones et. al., Cancer Chemotherapy Pharmacology (2011) 68:423–429; Cassier et. al., Annals of Oncology 25: 1222–1228, 201; vi. Subbiah et. al., Scientific Reports | 6:35448 2016). Using the Subbiah study data and the Royal Marsden Hospital scoring system to predict survival for the sarcoma subjects from the IT-01 study, a synthetic Kaplan Meier (KM) control curve was generated. The overall survival of the control, all INT230-6 patients in sarcoma, including those receiving a cumulative dose of greater than 40% of their TTB, are shown in the below table.
Phase 1/2 studies Control (Subbiah) INT230-6 all INT230-6 >40% TTB INT230-6 + IPI
Median OS 205 days 649 days Not yet reached Not yet reached
Confidence Interval – (146, NR)
Sample size 56 15 11 14
About INT230-6
INT230-6, Intensity’s lead proprietary investigational product candidate, is designed for direct intratumoral injection. INT230-6 was discovered using Intensity’s proprietary DfuseRx℠ technology platform. The drug is composed of two proven, potent anti-cancer agents, cisplatin and vinblastine, and a penetration enhancer molecule (SHAO) that helps disperse potent cytotoxic drugs throughout tumors for diffusion into cancer cells. These agents remain in the tumor resulting in a favorable safety profile. In addition to local disease control, direct killing of the tumor by INT230-6 releases a bolus of neoantigens specific to the patient’s malignancy, leading to engagement of the immune system and systemic anti-tumor effects. Importantly, these effects are mediated without the immunosuppression of concomitant systemic chemotherapy.