On November 1, 2023 Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: MNPR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing proprietary therapeutics designed to extend life or improve the quality of life for cancer patients, reported that it will present data from its ongoing Phase 1b open-label, dose-escalating clinical trial of camsirubicin in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (ASTS) later today at the 2023 Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) Annual Meeting, which is bringing together the world’s leading sarcoma specialists (Press release, Monopar Therapeutics, NOV 1, 2023, View Source [SID1234636649]). Monopar’s poster presentation can be found at the following link: View Source

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Clinical Trial Results To-Date

The Phase 1b clinical trial has enrolled 14 ASTS patients (9 female and 5 male) to-date ranging in age from 26 to 81 years (median = 52.5 years) across five dose cohorts. The trial is currently ongoing and is in the fifth dose level cohort (650 mg/m2).

So far, 9 out of the 14 patients have had stable disease (SD, as defined by RECIST 1.1 criteria) after camsirubicin treatment. All patients in the fourth and fifth cohorts achieved stable disease, including the three most recently treated patients, each of whom also experienced an ~20% tumor size reduction at last study scan. One of these patients had unresectable cancer at study entry, but after the tumor size reduction, the patient became eligible for resection and underwent successful surgical removal of their cancer with clear margins.

No dose-limiting toxicity, as defined in the protocol, has been observed to-date. A medically complex patient in the 650 mg/m2 dose cohort has an ongoing left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decrease that is being monitored. This patient has a BMI of 42.5, one kidney, hypertension, a long standing heart murmur, and a maternal history of heart failure. No toxicities have occurred requiring expansion of a dose cohort, and the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) has not been reached.

Camsirubicin Background

ASTS is a deadly cancer with inadequate treatment options. Doxorubicin is currently the first-line standard of care treatment for most types of ASTS, and the average life expectancy from time of diagnosis for these patients is only about 12 to 15 months. Because of the risk of irreversible heart damage, patients discontinue doxorubicin treatment after just 6 to 8 cycles. Camsirubicin was designed to retain the anti-cancer activity while avoiding the irreversible heart damage that is seen with doxorubicin. The value-driving hypothesis for camsirubicin is straightforward: modifying doxorubicin to reduce cardiac damage could enable both higher and longer dosing, resulting in better efficacy and patient outcomes.