On May 8, 2024 Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (Coherus; Nasdaq: CHRS) reported that the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) and its Immunotherapy Platform Study in Platinum-Resistant High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (IPROC) Drug Selection Committee (DSC) have selected LOQTORZI (toripalimab-tpzi), anti-PD-1 antibody, to explore in combination with ENB-003, a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor of endothelin B receptor (ETBR), for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers in the iPROC platform study (Press release, Coherus Biosciences, MAY 8, 2024, View Source [SID1234642869]). Endothelin B receptor is implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor immune suppression for several solid tumors, including melanoma, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers.

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"The iPROC DSC is pleased to have access to this next-generation PD-1 inhibitor and advance this combination supported by preclinical and clinical data in this study in ovarian cancer," said John Stagg, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Montreal and Principal Investigator, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and its affiliated Cancer Institute of Montreal.

Dr. Stagg continued, "The iPROC study DSC brings together a group of scientific experts within the CRI community to select promising combinations and rapidly advance them to clinical trials. Importantly, the DSC is not confined by a pipeline but looks to work with companies with drugs that have a strong data package. For this multiparty platform study to succeed, it requires science-driven, highly collaborative, and engaged companies. Coherus and ENB Therapeutics are two such partners, and we are excited to advance this clinical study."

"CRI is an established and preeminent organization leading immunotherapy discovery and advancement through its global network of scientific experts, and we are excited that the CRI network has selected LOQTORZI for this study to gain more insight into the potential clinical benefit that LOQTORZI might have when combined with novel mechanisms such as ENB Therapeutics’ ETBR blocker, particularly in this underserved patient population," said Rosh Dias, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Coherus.

"There is a large body of clinical evidence for LOQTORZI, including positive phase 3 studies published in top-tier scientific journals, showing efficacy and safety in multiple tumor types," said Jay Campbell, Managing Director, Clinical Accelerator and Venture Fund at CRI. "This level of scientific evidence is what we are looking for when selecting immunotherapies to bring into our network, with the goal of advancing clinically meaningful solutions to patients. We are grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with Coherus and ENB Therapeutics on this study and excited to be working with them on this novel combination that we hope will lead to improved outcomes in these patient populations."

Dr. Sumayah Jamal, CEO of ENB Therapeutics, added, "We are honored to be collaborating with CRI and Coherus to further accelerate the development of innovative immunotherapy solutions and expand the pool of patients benefitting from this approach to harness the immune system to fight cancer."

Under the terms of a clinical supply agreement with the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), Coherus will supply toripalimab-tpzi for combination treatment with ENB-003 to be investigated in the iPROC platform study.

About the IPROC Platform Trial
The IPROC clinical trial uses an adaptive platform study design that utilizes a single master protocol to evaluate multiple immunotherapy combinations. This allows multiple treatments to be evaluated in different groups of patients, or cohorts, from the same patient population. Such a study design offers flexibility in that different treatments can be evaluated in different cohorts, treatment regimens can be modified between cohorts, and treatment selection criteria can be customized for a specific cohort. The trial, titled Immunotherapy Platform Study in Platinum-Resistant High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (IPROC) (NCT04918186), has two ongoing cohorts.

About LOQTORZI (toripalimab-tpzi)
LOQTORZI is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody that blocks PD-L1 binding to the PD-1 receptor at a unique site with high affinity and activates anti-tumor immunity. LOQTORZI is indicated in the United States in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for first-line treatment of adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and as a single agent for the treatment of adults with recurrent unresectable or metastatic NPC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. For more information about LOQTORZI, including the U.S. Prescribing Information and important safety information, please visit www.loqtorzi.com.

About ENB-003
ENB-003, a small-molecule drug candidate targeting the ETBR, is expressed in solid tumors and plays a role in tumorigenesis and immune evasion. ETBR, a G-protein-coupled receptor, is overexpressed in a variety of tumor cell types and plays a key role in tumor cell proliferation, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and angiogenesis. It also plays a role in tumor immunosuppression and blocks T-cell trafficking.

As reported in November 2023, preliminary results from the ENBOLDEN-101 demonstrated that ENB-003 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) demonstrated encouraging objective responses, disease control, and progression-free survival in patients with metastatic platinum refractory/resistant ovarian cancer (PROC).