On October 16, 2018 OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:OBMP) ("OncBioMune" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of a proprietary therapeutic cancer vaccine immunotherapy and targeted cancer therapies, reported the signing of a work order with leading Contract Research Organization, Theradex Oncology ("Theradex"), detailing the scope to be provided by Theradex for a clinical trial titled, "A Phase 2 Study of a PSA/IL-2/GM-CSF Vaccine for the Treatment of PSA-Recurrent Prostate Cancer in Hormone-Naïve Patients (Press release, Oncbiomune, OCT 16, 2018, View Source [SID1234530471])." The trial, expected to enroll 30 patients, is being hosted At Urology Clinics of North Texas, a ten center 40 physician practice with 12 physicians honored with inclusion in the peer-selected "The Best Doctors in America" list.

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"We’re extremely pleased to have Theradex once again working with us on the further development of ProscaVax," commented Dr. Jonathan Head, Chief Executive Officer at OncBioMune. "Theradex is highly sought after for their experience and expertise in advancing promising cancer therapies and we are fortunate to have them on board to provide oversight and the necessary documentation to move this important trial efficiently forward. We expect to treat our first patient in early December."

OncBioMune has submitted the protocol to the FDA and expects a quick review by the outside IRB. Once approved by the FDA and IRB, the clinical trial information will be submitted to clinicaltrials.gov, with the expectation that the summary of the clinical trial will soon be available for public viewing.

ProscaVax is OncBioMune’s lead immunotherapy platform candidate consisting of a combination of prostate cancer associated prostate specific antigen (PSA) with the biological adjuvants interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

Per the Phase 2 study protocol, patients to be enrolled will be in "biochemical progression," a disease state with few management options. The goal of treating the recurrent prostate cancer patients with ProscaVax is to inhibit the progression of the disease and prevent or delay treatment with more toxic therapies.

About Prostate Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men other than skin cancer, with about 1 in 9 men diagnosed during their lifetime. ACS estimates that about 164,690 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed during 2018 and approximately 29,430 men will die from the disease this year. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, trailing only lung cancer. Approximately 2.9 million men are living with prostate cancer today. The average age of diagnosis is 66, with the disease considered rare in men under the age of 40.

The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) (ESMO 2018) congress takes place in Munich, Germany between 19 Oct – 23 Oct 2018.

This conference features more than 2000 abstracts and a global presence of companies ranging from big pharma to startups like Arcus Biosciences (USA), CStone Pharmaceuticals (China), Neon Therapeutics (USA), NEOMED Therapeutics 1 (Canada) and Oblique Therapeutics (Sweden).

Read more below on the latest and hottest from companies like Arcus, AstraZeneca, Merck & Co or any of the other 40+ selection of companies generating heat about their presence at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2018.

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On October 15, 2018 Loxo Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOXO), a biopharmaceutical company developing highly selective medicines for patients with genomically defined cancers, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to LOXO-292, a selective RET inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer who require systemic therapy, have progressed following prior treatment and have no acceptable alternative treatment options (Press release, Loxo Oncology, OCT 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234529908]). This designation supplements the two LOXO-292 Breakthrough Therapy Designations granted in September 2018. The Breakthrough Therapy Designation announced today was also based on data from the ongoing global Phase 1/2 LIBRETTO-001 clinical trial.

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The FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation is intended to expedite the development and review of a drug candidate that is planned for use to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition when preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints.

About LOXO-292
LOXO-292 is an oral and selective investigational new drug in clinical development for the treatment of patients with cancers that harbor abnormalities in the rearranged during transfection (RET) kinase. RET fusions and mutations occur across multiple tumor types with varying frequency. LOXO-292 was designed to inhibit native RET signaling as well as anticipated acquired resistance mechanisms that could otherwise limit the activity of this therapeutic approach. LOXO-292 has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. FDA.

LOXO-292 is currently being studied in the global LIBRETTO-001 Phase 1/2 trial. For additional information about the LOXO-292 clinical trial, please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov. Interested patients and physicians can contact the Loxo Oncology Physician and Patient RET Clinical Trial Hotline at 1-855-RET-4-292 or email [email protected].

About RET-Altered Cancers
Genomic alterations in RET kinase, which include fusions and activating point mutations, lead to overactive RET signaling and uncontrolled cell growth. RET fusions have been identified in approximately 2% of non-small cell lung cancer, 10-20% of papillary and other thyroid cancers, and a subset of other cancers. Activating RET point mutations account for approximately 60% of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Both RET fusion cancers and RET-mutant MTC are primarily dependent on this single activated kinase for their proliferation and survival. This dependency, often referred to as "oncogene addiction," renders such tumors highly susceptible to small molecule inhibitors targeting RET.

On October 15, 2018 Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) reported that it will report third quarter financial results after the Nasdaq market closes on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018 (Press release, Neurocrine Biosciences, OCT 15, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2371705 [SID1234530025]). Neurocrine will then host a conference call and webcast to discuss its financial results and provide a Company update that day at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

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Participants can access the live conference call by dialing 877-876-9176 (US) or 785-424-1667 (International) using the conference ID: NBIX. The webcast can also be accessed on Neurocrine’s website under Investors at www.neurocrine.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the event and will be archived for one month.

On October 15, 2018 PellePharm, a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to targeting rare skin conditions at their source, reported updated clinical data from two Phase 2 studies of patidegib topical gel in a poster session at NORD’s Rare Diseases and Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit 2018 in Washington, D.C. Results of the studies showed clinical clearance and prevention of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) tumors after 6 months of treatment with patidegib topical gel in patients with Gorlin Syndrome, a rare genetic disease; and both clinical and histologic clearance after 3 months of treatment in patients with sporadic, nodular BCCs (Press release, PellePharm, OCT 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234576274]).

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"We are pleased by these positive results showing the potential of patidegib topical gel in preventing new facial BCCs in patients with Gorlin Syndrome, potentially reducing the number of surgeries and resulting facial scarring that patients experience," said Sanuj Ravindran, M.D., president and chief executive officer of PellePharm. "Based on these Phase 2 findings, we intend to initiate a randomized, one-year registrational Phase 3 trial of patidegib topical gel at the end of 2018 in patients with Gorlin Syndrome, and we also plan to study patidegib topical gel in non-Gorlin patients with high-frequency BCCs."

Title: Hedgehog Inhibition by Topical Patidegib Reduces Facial BCC Burden in Patients with Gorlin Syndrome
Date and Time: Monday, October 15 – Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Poster Number: #71

The data presented at the NORD Summit are from two Phase 2 trials of topical patidegib gel – a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, study in patients with Gorlin Syndrome in the UK and in a study in patients with sporadic, nodular BCCs in the US. In the Gorlin Phase 2 trial, 17 patients with a total of 85 surgically eligible BCCs (SEBs) applied patidegib topical gel (administered in strengths of 2% and 4%) or a topical vehicle control twice daily for 6 months to their face for prevention and to 5 SEBs for treatment.

The Phase 2 Gorlin trial showed that for prevention of surgically-eligible BCCs (SEBs), patients in the topical control group developed an average of 1.4 new SEBs in 6 months. In contrast, patients treated with patidegib topical gel 2% and 4% developed only 0.4 SEBs in Intent to Treat analysis (p=0.096) and only 0.3 SEBs in Per-Protocol analysis (p=0.008). Additionally, clinical clearance of tumors was observed in 27% (12 out of 45 SEBs) of the patidegib topical gel treated subjects compared to no tumors with clinical clearance in subjects in the vehicle group (N=16 SEBs, P=0.02).

In the U.S. trial, 36 non-Gorlin patients with sporadic, nodular BCCs applied patidegib topical gel 2%, 4%, or topical control to BCCs for 3 months. Use of patidegib topical gel 2% was significantly more effective in clinical and histologic clearance of BCCs after 3 months compared with the topical vehicle gel (p=0.045). This finding correlated with a decrease in hedgehog biomarker in BCC tumors after three months in patients using patidegib topical gel.

Across both studies, patients using topical patidegib gel did not experience any of the significant side effects characteristic of oral hedgehog inhibitors (e.g., hair loss, taste loss or frequent muscle cramps). Patients treated with patidegib topical gel 4% experienced mild skin irritation (e.g., redness, itching and swelling), but those using patidegib topical gel 2% did not.

About Patidegib

Patidegib topical gel has shown early promise in a Phase 2 clinical study for the mitigation of BCC tumors in Gorlin Syndrome by blocking the disease at its source within the hedgehog signaling pathway. Topical patidegib gel was developed to provide the efficacy previously demonstrated by oral patidegib in Phase 1 trials without the adverse systemic side effects. Patidegib’s gel formulation is stable at room temperature for at least two years, making it a viable potential therapy for ongoing, at-home management of Gorlin Syndrome. Patidegib has received both Orphan Drug Designation and Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA.

About Gorlin Syndrome

Gorlin Syndrome is a rare, genetic, disease where patients are born with mutations in the tumor suppressor gene encoding PATCHED1 (PTCH1), which acts as the primary inhibitor of the hedgehog signaling pathway. This leads to the formation of multiple basal cell carcinomas, often on the face.

With no FDA-approved drugs available for Gorlin Syndrome BCCs, the standard of care is surgery. People with severe Gorlin Syndrome may have as many as 30 surgeries per year, which can be repetitive, scarring and disfiguring. Approximately 10,000 people in the United States, or one in 31,000, are believed to be affected by Gorlin Syndrome. Gorlin Syndrome is known by several names, including Gorlin-Goltz Syndrome, Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome (BCNS), and Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome (NBCCS).

About High-Frequency Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCCs)

High-Frequency BCC, like Gorlin Syndrome, is a rare disease which is characterized by the development of an abnormally high number of BCCs. Unlike patients with Gorlin Syndrome, patients with high-frequency BCC are not born with a germline PTCH1 mutation and do not suffer from the other systemic manifestations of Gorlin Syndrome. The standard of care for patients with high-frequency BCC is surgery.