On May 17, 2018 Triumvira Immunologics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing a novel platform for engineering T cells to attack cancers, today formally reported the appointments of Sabine Chlosta, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer, and Jon Irvin as Vice President, Finance (Press release, Triumvira Immunologics, MAY 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234526750]).

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"We are delighted to expand our executive management team with Dr. Chlosta and Mr. Irvin," said Paul Lammers, MD, MSc., President and CEO of Triumvira Immunologics. "We look forward to leveraging Sabine’s extensive experience in immuno-oncology and clinical trial oversight as we work to develop and commercialize innovative therapies that will empower a patient’s own immune system to tackle serious and life-threatening diseases."

"In addition, Jon’s finance expertise in the pharmaceutical and technology industries will be a strong asset to Triumvira as we build our company to bring new treatments to patients in need," Lammers added.

Prior to Triumvira, Sabine Chlosta consulted for Aurora BioPharma, a start-up company developing CAR-T cells in solid tumors and was previously a Senior Medical Director at Merck & Co. where she played a key role in the development of its PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda in Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and oversaw trials in other indications, as well. Earlier in her career, Dr. Chlosta was a medical director at Glycomimetics where she helped launch the company’s first trial in cancer. She began her industry career as a Fellow in Oncology Drug Development at Novartis overseeing clinical pharmacology trials with a small molecule and helped launch their CAR-T lymphoma program with Kymriah. Dr. Chlosta is a board-certified pediatric hematologist oncologist out of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College.

"Triumvira is poised for growth and success in T cell therapy, and I am thrilled to be part of the team to take our innovative TAC technology into the clinic," said Dr. Chlosta.

Jon Irvin was the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance at Mirna Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company, before joining Triumvira. He also served in executive financial positions for Voxpath Networks, Inc., a telecommunications and intellectual property company, Reddwerks Corporation, a software company, Esoterix, Inc., a medical laboratory company, Topaz Technologies, a pharmaceutical software company, and BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. Mr. Irvin previously worked with Ernst & Young’s life science practice in Palo Alto, California.

Irvin commented, "It’s exciting to be a part of this growing team as we develop our novel platform to treat patients’ unmet medical needs."

On May 17, 2018 Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq:VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, reported the selection of four abstracts for oral and poster presentations at the 23rd Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) being held June 14-17, 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden (Press release, Verastem, MAY 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234526786]).

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The Company will present data on its lead product candidate, duvelisib, a first-in-class oral dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma. An oral presentation by Dr. Matthew Davids, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will highlight the latest data from a Phase Ib/II study of duvelisib in combination with FCR (dFCR) as a frontline treatment in younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Three posters will highlight additional duvelisib data, including crossover extension results from the Phase 3 DUO study in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), and new biomarker analyses on the tumor microenvironment modulation from DUOTM and the Phase 2 DYNAMOTM study in patients with refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL), and the dual PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma activity of duvelisib in the CONTEMPOTM study in patients with untreated follicular lymphoma who are treated with duvelisib in combination with CD20 antibody immunotherapy.

"At EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2018, Dr. Matthew Davids will deliver an oral presentation describing results from the ongoing Phase Ib/II study evaluating duvelisib in combination with FCR (chemo-immunotherapy) in younger CLL patients," said Diep Le, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Verastem Oncology. "To date, the combination regimen has shown to be effective as an initial therapy with an ORR of 97%, including 28% of evaluable patients achieving a complete response or complete response with incomplete blood count recovery, and 69% achieving a partial response. A high rate of 81% bone marrow MRD negativity was observed in patients with at least one evaluation. Collectively, the data being presented at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) this year continue to provide important insights to guide the future clinical development of duvelisib across a wide range of hematologic malignancies, both as a monotherapy and in combination with other agents."

Details for the EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2018 presentation and posters are as follows:

Oral Presentation

Title: A Phase IB/II Study of duvelisib in combination with FCR (DFCR) for Frontline Therapy of Younger CLL Patients
Lead author: Dr. Matthew Davids, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Topic: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and related disorders – Clinical
Session Title: Combination treatment with targeted agents in CLL
Date and Time: Saturday, June 16, 12:15 – 12:30 CEST
Location: Victoria Hall
Final Abstract Code: S807
Poster Presentations

Title:The Efficacy of Duvelisib Monotherapy Following Disease Progression on Ofatumumab Monotherapy in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory CLL or SLL in a Phase 3 Crossover Extension Study
Lead author: Dr. Bryone Kuss, Flinders Medical Center
Topic: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and related disorders – Clinical
Session Title: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and related disorders – Clinical
Date and Time: Friday, June 15, 17:30 – 19:00 CEST
Location: Poster area
Final Abstract Code: PF354

Title: The effect of duvelisib, a dual inhibitor of PI3K-δ,γ, on components of the tumor microenvironment in previously untreated follicular lymphoma.
Lead author: Dr. Carla Casulo, University of Rochester, Wilmot Cancer Center
Topic: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Biology & Translational Research
Session Title: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Biology & Translational Research
Date and Time: Friday, June 15, 17:30 – 19:00 CEST
Location: Poster area
Final Abstract Code: PF646

Title: Duvelisib inhibition of chemokines in patients with CLL (DUO study) and iNHL (DYNAMO study).
Lead author: Dr. David Weaver, Verastem Oncology
Topic: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Biology & Translational Research
Session Title: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Biology & Translational Research
Date and Time: Friday, June 15, 17:30 – 19:00 CEST
Location: Poster area
Final Abstract Code: PF649

About Duvelisib

Duvelisib is a first-in-class investigational oral, dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma, two enzymes known to help support the growth and survival of malignant B-cells and T-cells. PI3K signaling may lead to the proliferation of malignant B- and T-cells and is thought to play a role in the formation and maintenance of the supportive tumor microenvironment.1,2,3 Duvelisib was evaluated in late- and mid-stage extension trials, including DUO, a randomized, Phase 3 monotherapy study in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL),4 and DYNAMO, a single-arm, Phase 2 monotherapy study in patients with refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL).5 Both DUO and DYNAMO achieved their primary endpoints. Verastem Oncology’s New Drug Application (NDA) requesting the full approval of duvelisib for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL, and accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) was accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), granted Priority Review and assigned a target action date of October 5, 2018. Duvelisib is also being developed by Verastem Oncology for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), and is being investigated in combination with other agents through investigator-sponsored studies.6 Information about duvelisib clinical trials can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov

On May 17, 2018 Ipsen (Euronext: IPN; ADR: IPSEY) reported that the European Commission (EC) has approved Cabometyx (cabozantinib) 20, 40, 60 mg for the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate- or poor- risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) (Press release, Ipsen, MAY 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234650566]). This approval allows for the marketing of Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in this indication in all 28 member states of the European Union, Norway and Iceland.

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"Today’s EC approval is a step forward for advanced kidney cancer patients in Europe who will be able to access a new oral first-line treatment option that offers significant improvement over the standard of care", said Harout Semerjian, Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer, Ipsen. "Ipsen remains committed to improving patients’ lives by continuing to develop new therapies and expanding the potential of Cabometyx across different indications."

Giuseppe Procopio, M.D., Head of the Genitourinary Unit at Fondazione Istituto Nazionale Tumori Milan, stated: "The value of treatment with Cabometyx has been corroborated by the data generated in clinical trials, and since 2016 physicians have also witnessed the potential of it when treating patients following VEGF-targeted therapy. For both of these reasons, physicians will be pleased to soon have access to this new first-line treatment option for intermediate- or poor- risk advanced RCC patients."
Today’s decision is based on the CABOSUN trial, which demonstrated that cabozantinib significantly prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) compared to sunitinib in treatment-naive aRCC patients with intermediate- or poor-risk. Cabozantinib is the first and only monotherapy to demonstrate superior clinical efficacy over sunitinib in treatment-naïve aRCC patients with intermediate- or poor-risk.
The detailed recommendations for the use of this product are described in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), available here (View Source).
About the CABOSUN study
On May 23, 2016, Exelixis announced that CABOSUN met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS compared with sunitinib in patients with intermediate- or poor-risk aRCC per IMDC (International Metastatic RCC Carcinoma Database Consortium) criteria as determined by investigator assessment. CABOSUN was conducted by The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology as part of Exelixis’ collaboration with the NCI-CTEP. These results were first presented by Dr. Toni Choueiri at the meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2016, and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Choueiri, JCO, 2018).i
On June 19 2017 Exelixis announced that the analysis of the review by a blinded independent radiology review committee (IRC) has confirmed the primary efficacy endpoint results of investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS) from the CABOSUN randomized phase 2 trial of cabozantinib as compared with sunitinib in patients with previously untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with intermediate- or poor-risk disease per the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) criteria. Per the IRC analysis, cabozantinib demonstrated a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in the rate of disease progression or death as measured by PFS. The incidence of adverse events (any grade) and the incidence of grade 3 or 4 adverse events between cabozantinib and sunitinib were comparable.
CABOSUN is a randomized, open-label, active-controlled phase II trial that enrolled 157 patients with aRCC determined to be intermediate- or poor-risk per IMDC criteria. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive cabozantinib (60 mg once daily) or sunitinib (50 mg once daily, four weeks on followed by two weeks off). The primary endpoint was PFS. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and objective response rate. Eligible patients were required to have locally advanced or metastatic clear-cell RCC, ECOG performance status 0-2, and had to be intermediate- or poor-risk per IMDC criteria (Heng, JCO, 2009).ii Prior systemic treatment for RCC was not permitted.
About advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
With the incidence predicted to rise 22% by 2020, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) threatens to become one of the fastest growing cancers in the world.iii Targeted therapies including tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of the VEGF receptor (VEGFR) introduced a decade ago, significantly transformed the treatment landscape of aRCC.iv
The American Cancer Society’s 2017 statistics cite kidney cancer as one of the top ten most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer among both men and women in the U.S.v Clear cell RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults.vi If detected in its early stages, the five-year survival rate for RCC is high. For patients with advanced- or late-stage metastatic RCC, however, the five-year survival rate is only 12% with no identified cure for the disease.vii Approximately 30,000 patients in the U.S. and 68,000 globally require treatment.viii
The majority of clear cell RCC tumors have lower than normal levels of a protein called von Hippel-Lindau, which leads to higher levels of MET, AXL, and VEGF.ix–x These proteins promote tumor angiogenesis (blood vessel growth), growth, invasiveness, and metastasis.xi, xii, xiii, xiv MET and AXL may provide escape pathways that drive resistance to VEGFR inhibitors. xii – xv
About CABOMETYX (cabozantinib)
Cabometyx is an oral small molecule inhibitor of receptors, including VEGFR, MET, AXL and RET. In preclinical models, cabozantinib has been shown to inhibit the activity of these receptors, which are involved in normal cellular function and pathologic processes such as tumor angiogenesis, invasiveness, metastasis and drug resistance.
In February of 2016, Exelixis and Ipsen jointly announced an exclusive licensing agreement for the commercialization and further development of cabozantinib indications outside of the United States, Canada and Japan. This agreement was amended in December of 2016 to include commercialization rights for Ipsen in Canada. On April 25, 2016, the FDA approved Cabometyx tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced RCC who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy and on September 9, 2016, the European Commission approved Cabometyx tablets for the treatment of advanced RCC in adults who have received prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy in the European Union, Norway and Iceland. Cabometyx is available in 20 mg, 40 mg or 60 mg doses. The recommended dose is 60 mg orally, once daily.
On December 19, 2017, Exelixis received approval from the FDA for Cabometyx for the expanded indication of treatment of advanced RCC.
On May 17, 2018, Ipsen announced that the European Commission approved Cabometyx for the first-line treatment of adults with intermediate- or poor- risk advanced renal cell carcinomain the European Union, Norway and Iceland.

On May 16, 2018 Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing immuno-oncology therapies that teach the immune system to recognize and attack cancer, reported the appointment of John Celebi, M.B.A., as President and Chief Executive Officer (Press release, Sensei Biotherapeutics, MAY 16, 2018, View Source [SID1234526734]). He also joins the company’s board of directors. Mr. Celebi brings more than two decades of leadership experience with innovative and growing biotechnology companies, most recently in the field of cancer immunotherapies.

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The appointment of Mr. Celebi as President and Chief Executive Officer occurs at a time when Sensei is emerging with a focused immuno-oncology strategy, promising clinical data from the Phase I trial of its lead drug candidate SNS-301, and the proprietary SPIRIT drug development platform that is generating a pipeline of innovative immuno-oncology therapies. SNS-301 and the SPIRIT platform originated at Panacea Pharmaceuticals which has become Sensei Biotherapeutics. Sensei’s growing team of 14 employees is focused on its growth strategy in
immuno-oncology, operating out of its new 30,000 square foot laboratory and office space.

"I am delighted to join Sensei at this exciting time when we have the opportunity to apply our SPIRIT platform to develop immuno-oncology therapies with an innovative mechanism for detecting and eliminating cancer. We are encouraged by the clinical data that is emerging for our lead drug candidate, SNS-301, which we are advancing to lead the way in our strategy to build a precision pipeline of immuno-oncology therapies through companion diagnostics," said Mr. Celebi. "Sensei is well positioned to leverage our unique technology to develop novel
therapies with the potential to achieve our mission to have a positive and profound impact for
cancer patients."

"We welcome John’s strong experience and strategic business acumen to help build our vision and future for Sensei," said Hossein Ghanbari, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Board Chair of Sensei Biotherapeutics, and the company’s original co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

"John’s oncology background and accomplished track record in biotech will serve Sensei exceptionally well as we move forward with our innovative immuno-oncology platform and advance new medicines for patients." Mr. Celebi has a distinguished track record for growing innovative entrepreneurial biotechnology companies, including in the field of oncology. Previously, Mr. Celebi served as the Chief Operating Officer of X4 Pharmaceuticals where he established and oversaw the company’s oncology business strategy. He also served as Chief Business Officer of Igenica Biotherapeutics, Inc., an immunotherapy company formed by The Column Group, 5AM Ventures, Orbimed and Third Rock Ventures, where he established key academic and industry relationships, including with MedImmune. He has extensive transactional and alliance management experience. Previously, he served as Vice President of Business Development, New Product Planning and Alliance Management at ArQule, Inc., where he played a central role
in the formation of alliances with Roche, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Kyowa Hakko Kirin. Mr. Celebi was one of the early employees at Tularik, Inc., where he conducted drug discovery and basic research for an anti-viral drug program. Mr. Celebi received an M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego.

On May 17, 2018 Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) reported a poster presentation of additional prostate cancer data (Abstract #229675) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) annual meeting to be held in Chicago, June 1-5, 2018 (Press release, Inovio, MAY 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234526752]). Previously reported data from a Phase 1b clinical trial demonstrated that Inovio’s cancer immunotherapy (INO-5150) slowed PSA rise in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. Additional analyses show clinically meaningful PSA stabilization post-administration of Inovio’s immunotherapy in patients with no documented disease progression during the study. Of note, this effect was also observed in the patients with the fastest PSA doubling at the time of study entry.

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The multi-center Phase 1b study enrolled 62 patients with biochemically relapsed prostate cancer following definitive local therapy. Under the trial design, eligible patients received INO-5150 (DNA plasmids encoding prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)) alone or co-administered with INO-9012 (IL-12 plasmid) delivered intramuscularly followed by EP using the CELLECTRA-5P device. Of the 61 evaluable patients, 77% (47/61) demonstrated T cell immunogenicity, and 38% (19/50) exhibited CD38+, Perforin+CD8+ T cell responses. Additional analyses are underway to elucidate the correlation between immunologic efficacy and clinical benefit. For more information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02514213).

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio’s President & CEO, said, "The additional results from our Phase 1b INO-5150 study continue to support our rationale that Inovio’s T cell generating INO-5150 could be an important agent as an immunotherapy as it provides strong and durable immune responses in a particularly difficult-to-treat prostate cancer patient population. We remain diligent on establishing an outside partnership to further advance INO-5150 and I look forward to sharing additional observations from our prostate cancer development program later this year."

INO-5150 was generated using Inovio’s proprietary ASPIRE technology process to enable significant production of engineered PSA and PSMA antigens with genetic sequences differentiated from native human PSA and PSMA sequences. This patented approach is designed to help the body’s immune system overcome its "self-tolerance" to prostate cancer cells and mount a strong targeted CD8+ killer T cell response to eliminate the cancerous cells displaying these antigens. PSMA is also one of 3 antigens comprising INO-5401, which is being tested in two separate Phase 1/2 trials as an immunotherapy to treat glioblastoma and metastatic bladder cancer in combination with Regeneron and Genentech/Roche’s checkpoint inhibitors, respectively.

Independently, as part of the active, ongoing collaboration, two additional posters are being presented at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) meeting that provide details on the ongoing trials of AstraZeneca/MedImmune’s MEDI0457 (formerly called INO-3112 which MedImmune in-licensed from Inovio) in abstract #TPS6093 and #5525.