On February 13, 2024 Krystal Biotech, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: KRYS), a commercial-stage biotechnology company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for inhaled KB707 for the treatment of patients with solid tumors with pulmonary metastases that are relapsed or refractory to standard of care therapy (Press release, Krystal Biotech, FEB 13, 2024, View Source [SID1234640048]).

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"The lung is often the predominant site of metastasis for many different cancers, most of which have limited or no standard of care immunotherapy treatment options" said Daniel Johnson, MD, Director of the Center for Innovative Cancer Therapies at the Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. "The therapeutic benefits of cytokine therapy for the treatment of solid tumors have long been recognized, but difficult to harness due to toxicities when given systemically. Intra-tumoral injection of potent immunotherapies can avoid systemic toxicities, but many sites of disease, particularly the lung, are not accessible for direct injection. We are excited about the possibility of bringing cytokine therapy to this patient population via localized, sustained cytokine expression in the lung itself."

KB707 is a modified HSV-1 vector designed to deliver genes encoding both human interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) to the tumor microenvironment and promote systemic immune-mediated tumor clearance. In January 2024, the FDA cleared an amendment to the Company’s Investigational New Drug application to evaluate inhaled KB707 in a clinical trial to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors of the lung. The Company expects to dose the first patient in the open-label, multi-center, monotherapy, dose escalation and expansion Phase 1 clinical study (KYANITE-1) in the first half of 2024. Details of the study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT identifier: NCT06228326.

This is the second Fast Track Designation granted for KB707. In July 2023, the FDA granted intratumoral KB707 Fast Track Designation for the treatment of anti-programmed cell death protein-1 relapsed/refractory locally advanced or metastatic melanoma.

"The FDA’s decision to grant inhaled KB707 Fast Track Designation is a reflection of both the urgent unmet need that exists for patients with lung metastases and the robust preclinical data we have generated to date in stringent syngeneic mouse models of checkpoint inhibitor refractory metastatic disease," said Suma Krishnan, President, Research & Development, Krystal Biotech. "We look forward to the first patient being dosed with inhaled KB707 later this year."

About Fast Track Designation
Fast Track Designation is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and treat a serious or unmet medical need, enabling drugs to reach patients sooner. Clinical programs with Fast Track Designation may benefit from early and frequent communication with the FDA throughout the regulatory review process, and such clinical programs may be eligible to apply for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review if relevant criteria are met.

About KB707
IL-2 and IL-12 are secreted cytokines with complementary functions promoting cell-mediated immunity in humans. Both IL-2 and IL-12 have been shown to elicit anti-tumor immune responses in preclinical or clinical models and have been extensively studied for their potential in cancer immunotherapy. Despite promising signs of efficacy, it has proven difficult to effectively harness IL-2 and IL-12 for therapeutic benefit, as systemic administration is often poorly tolerated, and their inherently short half-lives necessitate high dose levels and extremely frequent dose intervals. KB707 is a modified HSV-1 vector designed to deliver genes encoding both human IL-12 and IL-2 directly to a patient’s tumor(s) and promote systemic immune-mediated tumor clearance. KB707 targets solid tumors that are accessible via intratumoral injection or inhalation.