10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, 2018, MAR 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234524955]).

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AbbVie Announces Results from Phase 2 Study Evaluating Rovalpituzumab Tesirine (Rova-T) for Third-Line Treatment of Patients with DLL3-Expressing Relapsed/Refractory Small Cell Lung Cancer

On March 22, 2018 AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), a global research and development-based biopharmaceutical company, reported that after consulting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it will not seek accelerated approval for Rova-T in third-line relapsed/refractory (R/R) small cell lung cancer (SCLC) based on magnitude of effect across multiple parameters in this single-arm study (Press release, AbbVie, MAR 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234525398]).

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"We continue to believe Rova-T has potential for patients with small cell lung cancer and other DLL3-expressing cancers," said Mike Severino, M.D., executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "Although the results from the study were not what we hoped for, we look forward to receiving data from the ongoing Phase 3 studies in the first- and second-line settings and remain committed to developing Rova-T for the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer."
Summary of Investigator Assessed Best Overall Response Rate, Independent Review Committee (IRC) Assessed Objective Response Rate, Duration of Response and Overall Survival in Third-Line SCLC Patients with High DLL3 Expression (N = 177)*

*Data represent 74 percent of the TRINITY study population with high DLL3 expression
a Best overall response is defined as a subject with a response of complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) at any time prior to receiving any subsequent anticancer therapy.
b Objective response is defined as a subject with a response of complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) prior to receiving any subsequent anticancer therapy, with confirmation of CR or PR at least 4 weeks (28 days) from the initial determination per RECIST v1.1.
­­c Based on Kaplan-Meier estimate.

In the study, the most common treatment-emergent adverse events were fatigue (38 percent), photosensitivity reaction (36 percent), pleural effusion (32 percent), edema peripheral (31 percent), decreased appetite (30 percent), nausea (26 percent), dyspnea (25 percent), thrombocytopenia (25 percent), constipation (22 percent), vomiting (17 percent), anemia (17 percent), hypoalbuminemia (16 percent), and cough (16 percent). Grade three and higher severe toxicities ≥ 5 percent were thrombocytopenia (11 percent), photosensitivity reaction (7 percent) and pleural effusion (5 percent)
.
About the Phase 2 TRINITY Study
TRINITY is a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, Phase 2 study of Rova-T in DLL3-expressing small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease after receiving at least two previous regimens, including at least one platinum-based regimen. The primary objective was to investigate the efficacy of Rova-T as third-line and later treatment for R/R DLL3-expressing SCLC. Secondary objectives included assessment of safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, RECIST-assessed progression-free survival, duration of response and clinical benefit rate.

About Rovalpituzumab Tesirine (Rova-T)
Rova-T is an investigational antibody-drug conjugate targeting the cancer-stem cell-associated delta-like protein 3 (DLL3)[1], which is expressed in more than 80 percent of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patient tumors, where it is prevalent on tumor cells, including cancer stem cells, but not present in healthy tissue.[2] Rova-T combines a targeted antibody that delivers a cytotoxic agent directly to the DLL3-expressing cancer cells while minimizing toxicity to healthy cells. Rova-T is under investigation as a third-line treatment in SCLC.[2] The expression of DLL3 suggests Rova-T may be useful across multiple tumor types, including metastatic melanoma, glioblastoma multiforme and some prostate, pancreatic and colorectal cancers.[2]
Rova-T is an investigational compound and its efficacy and safety have not been established by the FDA or any other health authority.

CBT Pharmaceuticals to Grow Immuno-Oncology Pipeline by License Agreement of Crown Bio CTLA-4 Antibody

On March 22, 2018 CBT Pharmaceuticals (CBT), a U.S. and China-based innovative biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the discovery and development of oncology combination therapies, reported a strategic licensing agreement with Crown Bioscience, Inc (Press release, CBT Pharmaceuticals, MAR 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234525458]). The agreement gives CBT exclusive world-wide development and commercialization rights to a novel, recombinant, human monoclonal antibody which targets a differentiated epitope on the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) molecule. Binding of this antibody to CTLA-4 blocks the interaction of CTLA-4 with its ligands CD80/CD86 thus allowing the cytotoxic T cells to function actively.

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Under the terms of this global licensing agreement, CBT gains access to a third checkpoint inhibitor to complement the existing immuno-oncology pipeline of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. CrownBio is eligible to receive potential future development, regulatory and sales-based milestones payments over $47 M, as well as royalties on net sales. Once the recommended Phase 1 monotherapy portion of the Phase 1/2 trial is completed, combination with other complementary therapies in CBT’s immuno-oncology and targeted therapy portfolios will be initiated.

"This acquisition from Crown Bio is another building block in our strategy to develop a portfolio of programs in combination with our pipeline of immuno-oncology and targeted therapies that we believe will lead to a meaningful durable clinical benefit and impact on cancer survival in variety of malignancies and in larger proportion of cancer patients," said Sanjeev Redkar, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of CBT. "The CTLA-4 asset fits well with our ongoing clinical studies and we hope to advance an additional three single agent and two combination clinical trials are expected to enter the clinic by the end of 2018." Tillman Pearce, MD, Interim Chief Medical Officer, added "The CTLA-4 asset demonstrated stronger binding and its performance in nonclinical models compares quite favorably to the marketed CTLA-4 which may allow for differentiation in the clinic."

Dr. Jean Pierre Wery, CEO of Crown Bio stated, "Crown Bio enables biopharmaceutical clients and partners the scientific platform to advance drugs to market to improve treatment options to patients. This includes strategic licensing of proprietary antibodies. We are pleased to support CBT’s innovati

Celyad Reports 2017 Financial and OperatingResults and Expected Key Milestones for 2018

On March 22, 2018 Celyad Reported 2017 Financial and OperatingResults and Expected Key Milestones for 2018 (Press release, Celyad, MAR 22, 2018, View Source(3).pdf [SID1234532496]).

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Astellas Receives Orphan Drug Designation from the Japanese MHLW for Gilteritinib

On March 22, 2018 Astellas Pharma Inc. (President and CEO: Yoshihiko Hatanaka, "Astellas" ) reported that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to gilteritinib for the treatment of FLT3mut+ Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the drug’s prospective indication (Press release, Astellas, MAR 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234536693]).

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Orphan drug designation system in Japan aims to support the development of drugs for diseases that, despite there being a significant medical need for treatments, affect only a small number of patients, and for which research and development is virtually nonexistent. As stipulated in Article 77 of the Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Other Therapeutic Products Act of Japan, the designation is granted by the minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for drugs that meet the designation criteria which include the following: the number of patients who may use the drug is less than 50,000 in Japan; there is no alternative appropriate drug or treatment in Japan; high efficacy or safety is expected compared to existing products. Specific measures to support the development of orphan drugs include subsidies for research and development expenditures, prioritized consultation regarding clinical development, reduced consultation fees, tax incentives, priority review of applications, reduced application fees, and extended registration validity period1

AML is a cancer that impacts the blood and bone marrow, and its incidence increases with age. In Japan, approximately 5,500 patients are diagnosed with AML each year2. Gilteritinib is an investigational compound that has demonstrated inhibitory activity against FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) as well as FLT3 tyrosine kinase domain (TKD), two common types of FLT3 mutations that are seen in approximately one-third of patients with AML. Further, gilteritinib has also demonstrated inhibition of the AXL receptor in AML cell lines.

Astellas will continue to develop gilteritinib to provide it to FLT3mut+ AML patients as early as possible.

(1): View Source
(2): KantarHealth. TREATMENT ARCHITECTURE: JAPAN LEUKEMIA, ACUTE MYELOID. CancerMPact Japan, February 2017.