On August 3, 2021 Ambrx (NYSE: AMAM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company using an expanded genetic code technology platform to create Engineered Precision Biologics, reported the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1, multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation, and dose expansion study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and anti-tumor activity of ARX517 in subjects with prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressing tumors found in prostate, pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancers (Press release, Ambrx, AUG 3, 2021, View Source [SID1234585640]).
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ARX517 is an anti-PSMA antibody drug conjugate (ADC) that demonstrated activity in both enzalutamide sensitive and resistant preclinical models for prostate cancer while demonstrating favorable PK and toxicity profiles in IND-enabling GLP toxicity studies.
"I am excited to announce that we dosed our first patient in our Phase 1 trial, and thus have taken the first steps in evaluating the potential clinical benefit of ARX517 in cancer patients with tumors overexpressing PSMA," said Feng Tian, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ambrx. "ARX517 is the second ADC in our internal pipeline to enter the clinic, which I believe speaks to the broad applicability and productivity of our technology platform. I look forward to updating you on the progression of this trial."
The Phase 1 trial will be a multi-center, open-label, dose escalation and dose expansion study. This trial, referred to as APEX-01, is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and PK profile, as well as the anti-tumor activity, of ARX517 as a monotherapy. The trial will enroll up to 76 patients with advanced solid tumors whose diseases have failed prior standard therapies.
About PSMA, prostate cancer and other solid tumors
PSMA has been found highly expressed in prostate cancer, particularly in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Additionally, PSMA has been found in a variety of other solid tumors. Prostate cancer represents a significant unmet need and sizable market opportunity. There were 1.3 million new cases of prostate cancer with five-year survival rates of approximately 27% and 359,000 associated deaths worldwide in 2018. For men, prostate cancer is the second most frequent cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death. The global market for prostate cancer therapies was estimated to be $9.3 billion in 2018 and is forecast to grow to $12.8 billion by 2028. While non-ADC therapies are available to treat mCRPC, there is no approved therapy specifically targeting PSMA to treat prostate cancer.