Lenvatinib is an oral, multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Preclinical drug metabolism studies showed unique metabolic pathways for lenvatinib in monkeys and rats. A human mass balance study demonstrated that lenvatinib related material is mainly excreted via feces with a small fraction as unchanged parent drug, but little is reported about its metabolic fate. The objective of the current study was to further elucidate the metabolic pathways of lenvatinib in humans and to compare these results to the metabolism in rats and monkeys. To this end, we used plasma, urine and feces collected in a human mass balance study after a single 24 mg (100 μCi) oral dose of (14)C-lenvatinib. Metabolites of (14)C-lenvatinib were identified using liquid chromatography (high resolution) mass spectrometry with off-line radioactivity detection. Close to 50 lenvatinib-related compounds were detected. In humans, unchanged lenvatinib accounted for 97 % of the radioactivity in plasma, and comprised 0.38 and 2.5 % of the administered dose excreted in urine and feces, respectively. The primary biotransformation pathways of lenvatinib were hydrolysis, oxidation and hydroxylation, N-oxidation, dealkylation and glucuronidation. Various combinations of these conversions with modifications, including hydrolysis, gluthathione/cysteine conjugation, intramolecular rearrangement and dimerization, were observed. Some metabolites seem to be unique to the investigated species (human, rat, monkey). Because all lenvatinib metabolites in human plasma were at very low levels compared to lenvatinib, only lenvatinib is expected to contribute to the pharmacological effects in humans.

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To evaluate the treatment effects, safety and pharmacokinetics of enzalutamide in Japanese patients.
This was a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled PREVAIL trial. Asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer progressing on androgen deprivation therapy were randomized one-to-one to 160 mg/day oral enzalutamide or placebo until discontinuation on radiographic progression or skeletal-related event and initiation of subsequent antineoplastic therapy. Coprimary end-points were centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival. Secondary end-points were investigator-assessed radiographic progression-free survival, time to initiation of chemotherapy, time to prostate-specific antigen progression, prostate-specific antigen response (≥50% decline) and time to skeletal-related event.
Of 1717 patients, 61 were enrolled in Japan (enzalutamide, n = 28; placebo, n = 33); hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 0.30 for centrally assessed radiographic progression-free survival (0.03-2.95), 0.59 for overall survival (0.20-1.8), 0.46 for time to chemotherapy (0.22-0.96) and 0.36 for time to prostate-specific antigen progression (0.17-0.75) showed the treatment benefit of enzalutamide over the placebo. Prostate-specific antigen responses were observed in 60.7% of enzalutamide-treated men versus 21.2% of placebo-treated men. Plasma concentrations of enzalutamide were higher in Japanese patients: the geometric mean ratio of Japanese/non-Japanese patients was 1.126 (90% confidence interval 1.018-1.245) at 13 weeks. Treatment-related adverse events grade ≥3 occurred in 3.6% of enzalutamide- and 6.1% of placebo-treated Japanese patients.
Treatment effects and safety in Japanese patients were generally consistent with the overall results from PREVAIL.
© 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Urology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of the Japanese Urological Association.

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On March 30, 2016 Amal Therapeutics (Amal) reported that they have completed CHF 3 million (EUR 2.75 million) Series A financing round with Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) as cornerstone investors (Press release, Boehringer Ingelheim, MAR 29, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510134]). VI Partners and High-Tech Gründerfonds also participated in the round which will help progress Amal’s cancer vaccines.

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Amal Therapeutics is a Swiss biotech company developing and progressing therapeutic cancer vaccines. The company will use the funds to progress the preclinical development of its lead vaccine (ATP124) for colorectal cancer and to further develop its KISIMA technology platform for therapeutic tumor vaccination. This novel technology is able to generate potent long lasting anti-tumor immunity and avoid tumor immune escape.

Dr. Frank Kalkbrenner from the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Dr. Frank Hensel from the High-Tech Gruenderfonds will join the Board as Board Observers. Dr. Diego Braguglia from VI Partners will also become a member of Amal’s Supervisory Board.

Dr. Madiha Derouazi, CEO and founder of Amal Therapeutics said: "This Series A investment recognizes the potential of the KISIMA technology platform and the value of our scientific assets. We are now in a position to rapidly progress our lead vaccine, ATP124, for colorectal cancer into the clinic and continue to develop our pipeline in other cancer indications. I look forward to working with the Board to make Amal Therapeutics a leading innovator in the field of immunotherapies".

Dr. Knut Elbers, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund representative on Amal’s Board added: "Dr. Derouazi’s dedicated leadership and scientific expertise allowed us to assemble a group of outstanding scientists to show proof-of-principle in a series of pre-clinical tumor studies. We are confident that Amal’s KISIMA technology could revolutionize the peptide-based cancer vaccine field – bringing an exciting new technology to the patient".

Dr. Braguglia, VI Partners: "We believe that the KISIMA technology is superior to many other tumor vaccine technologies, both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with other vaccines or immuno-oncology treatment modalities. I’m pleased to be joining the current seasoned investors and support the team of Amal in moving its technology into the clinic".

Amal’s vaccines combine a Cell Penetrating Peptide (CPP) with a multi-antigenic chimeric cargo with various CD8+ and CD4+ epitopes and a constitutive activator of dendritic cells, enabling them to simultaneously stimulate multi-epitopic cytotoxic T cell-mediated immunity, induce helper T (Th) cells and promote immunological memory.

About Amal Therapeutics SA

On March 29, 2016 TESARO, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRO), an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, and the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported an exclusive collaboration to discover and develop small molecule product candidates against undisclosed immuno-oncology targets (Press release, TESARO, MAR 29, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510112]). This collaboration leverages MD Anderson’s expertise in drug discovery and translational medicine and TESARO’s oncology drug development and commercialization capabilities.

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MD Anderson’s Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) is a fully integrated drug discovery and development group that aims to transform cancer care through the discovery and deployment of impactful new drugs to eliminate cancer. The TESARO collaboration is IACS’s first to specifically focus on small molecule drug discovery.

"We are excited to be partnering with the exceptional group of drug hunters at MD Anderson’s IACS to identify drug candidates against targets we collectively believe will build upon the recognized promise of immuno-oncology for patients living with cancer," said Mary Lynne Hedley, Ph.D., President and COO of TESARO. "We intend for this partnership to expand and complement TESARO’s existing portfolio of immuno-oncology programs and we continue to believe that immuno-oncology will transform our approach to cancer therapy."

Under terms of the agreement, TESARO will receive exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any small molecule product candidates that result from this collaboration. MD Anderson will be responsible for conducting research activities aimed at identifying clinical candidates with defined characteristics targeting certain immuno-oncology targets. TESARO will fund research, development, and commercialization expenses for this collaboration. Additional terms of this agreement were not disclosed.

"This synergistic partnership provides an opportunity to fast-track novel immune-modulating therapies towards our cancer patients," said Phil Jones, Ph.D., Executive Director and Head of the IACS platform. "This alliance is optimally aligned with IACS’ mission to rapidly advance impactful therapies into clinical practice."

About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 45 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No. 1 for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report’s "Best Hospitals" survey. It has ranked as one of the nation’s top two hospitals since the survey began in 1990, and has ranked first for 11 of the past 14 years. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

In 2012, MD Anderson announced its Moon Shots Program, an ambitious and comprehensive action plan to make a giant leap forward in cancer patient care, which was inspired by America’s drive a generation ago to put a man on the moon. IACS is one of 10 platforms supporting the Moon Shots Program. Like a biotech company embedded in a comprehensive cancer center, the drug discovery experts at IACS connect with basic scientists, clinical researchers, and strategic partners to develop novel drugs for cancer patients, employing a Bench at BedsideTM approach to shorten the drug development timeline.