On December 3, 2024 Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN), an artificial intelligence (AI) company dedicated to developing cancer therapies and transforming the cost, pace, and timeline of oncology drug discovery and development, reported that the FDA has granted Fast Track Designation for investigational drug candidate, LP-184, for treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) (Press release, Lantern Pharma, DEC 3, 2024, View Source [SID1234648779]). This marks the second Fast Track Designation received for LP-184 in 2024, following its designation for Glioblastoma in October.

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LP-184 is currently in a Phase 1A clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of this synthetically lethal investigational drug candidate in a broad range of solid tumors, including TNBC. LP-184 was optimized and advanced in part with Lantern’s AI platform, RADR, which helped validate mechanisms that could be exploited in the clinical setting to eradicate challenging cancers and uncover insights in targeted patient populations.

"Receiving a second FDA Fast Track Designation for LP-184 reinforces the significant potential of this drug candidate to address critical unmet needs in aggressive cancers, especially those like TNBC where patients have limited therapeutics options," stated Panna Sharma, President and CEO of Lantern Pharma. "Recent data presented at the Immuno-Oncology Summit demonstrated LP-184’s ability to sensitize TNBC tumors that are non-responsive to checkpoint inhibitors, potentially expanding treatment options for patients with limited therapeutic choices."

About TNBC and the Need for Novel Therapies

TNBC represents approximately 20% of all breast cancers, affecting nearly 29,000 patients annually in the US. The prognosis for TNBC patients is considerably worse than hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, with over 50% of patients relapsing in the first 3-5 years and metastatic TNBC patients having a median overall survival of less than one year. Currently available treatment options are limited, particularly for patients who develop resistance to existing therapies.

Compelling Preclinical Data Demonstrates LP-184’s Potential in TNBC

The graph above demonstrates LP-184’s remarkable anti-tumor activity across a panel of 10 TNBC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Notably, LP-184 showed consistent efficacy in both PARPi (PARP inhibitor) resistant and PARPi sensitive tumors, with treatment resulting in complete tumor regression (107-141% tumor growth inhibition) across all models tested. This data is particularly significant as it suggests LP-184’s potential as a novel therapeutic option for TNBC patients, including those who have developed resistance to existing PARP inhibitor treatments – a growing clinical challenge in TNBC therapy. This TNBC data was initially presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2022.

LP-184’s unique mechanism of action is driven by the enzymatic activation of the drug by Prostaglandin Reductase 1 (PTGR1), which converts LP-184 into its highly potent cytotoxic form specifically within cancer cells. RADR platform analysis and subsequent in-vivo validation studies have shown that PTGR1 is frequently elevated in TNBC tumors compared to normal tissue, making these cancers particularly susceptible to LP-184 treatment. This biomarker-driven approach allows for the potential identification of patients most likely to respond to LP-184 therapy, aligning with current and emerging precision medicine approaches in TNBC treatment.

About LP-184

LP-184 is a small molecule drug candidate and next-generation acylfulvene that preferentially damages DNA in cancer cells that overexpress specific biomarkers or harbor mutations in DNA damage repair pathways. LP-184 was developed using Lantern’s proprietary RADR AI platform to identify patient populations and cancer subtypes that have the potential to respond to treatment. The compound is being evaluated in multiple solid tumors where it has shown nanomolar potency and activity in drug-resistant cancers. LP-184 has received Orphan Drug Designations from the FDA for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma (GBM), and ATRT, and has also been granted a Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for ATRT.