On December 12, 2018 NETRIS Pharma, a clinical-stage company developing novel anticancer therapies targeting dependence receptors, reported successful completion of the first-in-human study on the effects of netrin-1 inhibition in patients with advanced solid tumors (Press release, Netris Pharma, DEC 12, 2018, View Source [SID1234532018]). The Phase 1 dose-escalation study showed that NP137, a first-in-class monoclonal anti-netrin-1 blocking antibody, was safe and well tolerated up to 20mg/kg, with no dose limiting toxicity (DLT), meeting the primary objective. In addition, patients with advanced uterine cancers exhibited encouraging signs of anti-tumor activity, including prolonged stable disease and objective response.

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"We are very pleased with the safety and tolerability profile of NP137 in this study, which enabled evaluation of netrin-1 inhibition in advanced solid tumors," said Philippe Cassier, MD, PhD, Head of Phase 1 unit at Centre Léon Bérard and Principal Investigator of the NP137 study.

"I am really impressed by the preliminary anti-tumor activity observed in this study with patients showing objective response and prolonged one-year disease control," added Professor Jean Yves Blay, MD, Ph.D. General Director of the Centre Léon Bérard and past president of EORTC.

The Phase 1 study was designed to evaluate the maximum tolerated dose, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and establish the recommended dose for the Phase 1b/2 expansion study. NP137 was dosed every other week starting from 1 mg/kg up to 20mg/kg in heavily pre-treated patients with advanced solid tumors. Additional study objectives were to evaluate the adverse events (AE), pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and preliminary anti-tumor activity of NP137. The study enrolled a total of 19 patients in three French centers, the Centre Léon Bérard in Lyon, the Institut Claudius Régaud in Toulouse and the Institut de Cancérologie de l’Ouest in Nantes. A Phase 1 extension study with an additional 24 patients is ongoing to confirm the safety and tolerability of NP137, collect biopsies before and after treatment to allow measurement of potential biomarkers and confirm the preliminary clinical activity seen during dose escalation. The final phase 1a data will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming international medical conference.

"Meeting the primary objective of the dose-escalation part of this study and generating preliminary positive efficacy data, particularly in such chemotherapy-resistant patients, provide an important confirmation of our dependence receptor science and lay the groundwork for larger clinical studies with NP137 as a targeted approach to treat solid tumors in combination with chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, » said Prof. Patrick Mehlen, Chief Executive Officer of NETRIS Pharma. « Additionally, we would like to thank the investigators, patients and caregivers for their participation in this study, and for contributing to our understanding of NP137 as we work to address a significant medical need. »

About NP137

Most types of tumors produce an abnormal amount of dependence receptors’ ligands, which prevents cells from dying. Netrin-1 is overexpressed in a large percentage of human cancers, including over two thirds of gynecologic cancers. Expression of netrin-1 often correlates with disease severity and no therapy has ever been tested against this new pathway.

NP137, a humanized monoclonal antibody of isotype IgG1 directed against netrin-1, is the first drug candidate developed by NETRIS Pharma. NP137 prevents the binding of netrin-1 on its dependence receptors, thereby re-inducing cancer cell death and impacting tumor cell plasticity. Pre-clinical studies show NP137 to have an anti-cancer effect as a monotherapy as well as synergistic effects in combination with chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors or tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

On December 12, 2018 BerGenBio ASA (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of first-in-class AXL kinase inhibitors to treat multiple cancer indications, reported that the Company will be presenting key results from its Phase II clinical programme with selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib at the DNB’s 9th Annual Nordic Healthcare Conference in Oslo, Norway, today at 10:15-10:40 CET (Press release, BerGenBio, DEC 12, 2018, View Source [SID1234532017]).

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The slides are available for download at the Company’s website: www.bergenbio.com/investors/presentations/

Richard Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "We have made significant progress during 2018 establishing clinical proof of concept for the remarkable utility of bemcentinib in cancers with high unmet clinical need and large market potential. We have shown that our once-a-day, oral selective AXL inhibitor is well tolerated as a monotherapy and in combination with immune-, targeted and chemotherapies. What is more, consistently we have seen that efficacy scales with AXL biomarker expression leading to superior response rates in AXL biomarker positive relapsed/refractory AML and MDS as a monotherapy as well as non-small cell lung cancer where we are combining with the immunotherapy blockbuster Keytruda. We have met all our operational milestones this year and are looking forward to starting a randomised phase II programme towards the end of H1 2019 based on key results obtained this year".

On December 12, 2018 Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADRO) reported the publication of a peer-reviewed paper in Cell Reports authored by Aduro scientists and Novartis collaborators as part of their ongoing research to study intratumoral stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway activation as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer (Press release, Aduro Biotech, DEC 12, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2380389 [SID1234532015]). In this study, researchers determined an intratumoral dosing regimen of STING pathway activator, ADU-S100, optimized for adaptive immunity in mouse models. While high doses of ADU-S100 were effective at clearing injected tumors, researchers found that higher tumor ablative dosing regimens could compromise durable anti-tumor immunity. Lower immunogenic doses of ADU-S100 were shown to optimally elicit CD8+ T cell responses required for systemic and durable anti-tumor immunity, and were also found to be efficacious in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

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"We previously established that intratumoral STING pathway activation by ADU-S100 results in tumor regression in preclinical models. Our publication in Cell Reports now highlights the importance of optimizing the therapeutic dose regimen for STING agonists with the aim to balance innate and adaptive immune responses triggered by STING activation in the tumor microenvironment," stated Andrea van Elsas, Ph.D. chief scientific officer of Aduro. "Our findings support the use of immunogenic doses of ADU-S100 with checkpoint inhibitors to drive efficacious anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses. We are encouraged by the potential of ADU-S100 as a novel treatment for cancer as we continue clinical evaluation of our lead compound in combination with checkpoint inhibitors."

The paper titled "Magnitude of Therapeutic STING Activation Determines CD8+ T-Cell Mediated Anti-Tumor Immunity," can be accessed online ahead of the print version in the peer-reviewed Journal Cell Reports.

ADU-S100 is the first STING pathway activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial as a single agent and in combination with ipilimumab (see www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT02675439) and in a Phase 1b combination trial with spartalizumab (PDR001), Novartis’ investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (see www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT03172936).

About STING Pathway Activator Technology
The Aduro-proprietary STING pathway activator product candidates, including ADU-S100 (MIW815), are synthetic small molecule immune modulators that are designed to target and activate human STING. STING is generally expressed at high levels in immune cells, including dendritic cells. Natural activation of STING is not always sufficient to prevent the growth and spread of cancer cells. In preclinical models, ADU-S100 directly activates STING to further amplify the natural anti-tumor response. Once activated, the STING receptor initiates a profound innate immune response through multiple pathways, inducing the expression of a broad profile of cytokines, including interferons and chemokines. This subsequently leads to the development of a systemic tumor antigen-specific T cell adaptive immune response.

Aduro’s lead molecule, ADU-S100, is the first therapeutic in development specifically targeting STING. In collaboration with Novartis, it is being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial as a single agent and in combination with ipilimumab, and in a Phase 1b combination trial with spartalizumab (PDR001), an investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody. These studies are enrolling patients with cutaneously accessible, advanced/metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. The trials are evaluating the ability of ADU-S100 to activate the immune system and recruit specialized immune cells to attack the injected tumor, leading to a broad immune response that seeks out and kills distant metastases.

On December 11, 2018 NexImmune, an emerging leader in the field of antigen-directed immunotherapy, reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new method of use patent to Johns Hopkins University related to the Company’s E+E (T cell Enrichment and Enhancement) technology for which NexImmune holds an exclusive license from Johns Hopkins (Press release, NexImmune, DEC 11, 2018, View Source [SID1234554955]). This further enhances the company’s AIM technology intellectual property portfolio and provides broad intellectual property rights protecting key aspects of the company’s lead product AIM ACT, an adoptive T cellular therapy for the treatment of cancer.

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"Using our proprietary E+E technology to generate antigen-specific T cells represents a uniquely differentiated approach to expanding polyclonal T cells that are highly antigen-specific, highly polyfunctional and with a phenotypic composition optimized for anti-tumor cytotoxicity, proliferative capacity and long-term immunologic memory. We believe our AIM E+E generated T cell products have the potential to address some of the clinical limitations observed with currently available genetically modified T cell therapies. Our hope is that these differences translate into meaningful benefit for patients suffering from a variety of hematological malignancies," commented Scott Carmer, Chief Executive Officer of NexImmune. "Ensuring a robust intellectual property position around E+E is inherent to advancing the program and the claims granted in this patent exemplify the novel science behind this exciting technology."

U.S. patent 10,098,939 adds to previously issued U.S. and international counterpart patents and patent applications that form NexImmune’s AIM patent portfolio. Claims were granted on the ability of E+E to expand large numbers of antigen-specific T cells from the body’s endogenous T cell repertoire. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that cells generated using E+E have a large proportion of highly functional central and effector memory T cells which the company believes will provide both a potent immediate therapeutic benefit for cancer patients and an enhanced durability of response compared to currently approved adoptive T cell therapies. NexImmune plans to advance its AIM ACT platform into early phase clinical trials in 2019.

On December 11, 2018 Alligator Bioscience AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: ATORX) reported that regulatory approvals have been obtained for the first clinical study of ATOR-1015 and patient recruitment can now be initiated. ATOR-1015 is a wholly-owned drug candidate developed for tumor-directed immunotherapy (Press release, Alligator Bioscience, DEC 11, 2018, View Source [SID1234538673]).

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The phase I study is a first-in-human dose-escalation study in up to 53 patients with advanced solid tumor disease at five different clinics across Sweden and Denmark. The primary aim of the study will be to investigate the safety and tolerability of the drug and to identify the recommended dose for subsequent Phase II studies.

"The start of clinical phase I study with ATOR-1015 represents a significant milestone for Alligator. We are first in the world with a new concept, a tumor-localizing bispecific CTLA-4 antibody. While the target is clinically validated, the clinical use of CTLA-4 blocking agents is restricted by severe toxicity. ATOR-1015 may provide a solution through its potential for selective activation of the immune system in the tumor area but not elsewhere in the body. The drug’s preclinical results are very promising, clearly supporting this concept", said Per Norlén, CEO of Alligator Bioscience.

As previously communicated, Alligator has appointed Theradex Oncology, a global contract research organization with extensive expertise in oncology clinical development, to conduct the phase I study.

For further information, please contact:
Cecilia Hofvander, Director Investor Relations & Communications
Phone +46 46 540 82 06
E-mail: [email protected]

This information is such information as Alligator Bioscience AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 8:00 a.m. CET on December 11, 2018.

About ATOR-1015
ATOR-1015 is a next generation CTLA-4 bispecific antibody developed for tumor-directed immunotherapy with increased capability of regulatory T-cell depletion. It is wholly-owned by Alligator. ATOR-1015 binds to two different immune receptors: the checkpoint receptor CTLA-4 and the co-stimulatory receptor OX40. The immune activation is increased in areas where both target molecules are expressed at high levels, notably in the tumor microenvironment, which is believed to reduce adverse immune reactions.