On August 17, 2017 Cellectis (Paris:ALCLS) (NASDAQ:CLLS) (Alternext: ALCLS; Nasdaq: CLLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing immunotherapies based on gene-edited CAR T-cells (UCART), reported that the first patient with Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) has been dosed in Cellectis’ Phase I clinical study using the Company’s wholly controlled TALEN gene edited product candidate UCART123 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center View Source UCART123 is the first allogeneic, “off-the-shelf” gene edited CAR T-cell product candidate targeting CD123 to be investigated in U.S. clinical trials.

The UCART123 clinical program for BPDCN is led by Dr. Naveen Pemmaraju, MD, Assistant Professor, Professor Marina Konopleva MD, PhD, and Professor Hagop Kantarjian, MD, Department Chair, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The clinical trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of UCART123 in patients with BPDCN in the relapsed, refractory and front-line setting. BPDCN is a rare and aggressive hematological malignancy classified in the myeloid diseases among the acute leukemias that are derived from plasmacytoid dendritic cell precursors. It is a bone marrow disease that also often affects skin and lymph nodes.

Given its rarity and recent recognition as a distinct clinicopathological entity, no standardized therapeutic approach has been established for BPDCN, and the optimal therapy remains to be defined. Although transient responses are achieved by combination chemotherapy regimens that are used to treat acute leukemia or lymphoma, most patients relapse with the drug-resistant disease.

“We are eager to progress through clinical trials with UCART123, Cellectis’ wholly controlled gene-edited product candidate, next with the treatment of BPDCN, rare but aggressive entity,” said Dr. Loan Hoang-Sayag, Cellectis’ Chief Medical Officer. “With this innovative treatment, the hope is that our “off-the-shelf” approach will transform the way we think about cancer care and serve as the next step in curing this disease through the power of gene editing.”

On August 17, 2017 Cancer Research UK* and Newcastle University (link is external) reported a three year extension to their major strategic drug discovery alliance with Astex Pharmaceuticals (link is external), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics (Press release, Cancer Research UK, AUG 17, 2017, View Source [SID1234520272]).

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The alliance, which was formed five years ago, brings together world-leading researchers in structural and cellular biology, and medicinal chemistry with the innovative fragment-based small molecule drug discovery and development capabilities of Astex.

The researchers at the Cancer Research UK Drug Discovery Programme at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research (link is external) (NICR), Newcastle University, will work to identify and develop new cancer drugs and associated biomarkers.

The existing portfolio of research consists of multiple projects spanning target validation and early stage medicinal chemistry, with projects progressing towards the more advanced stages of preclinical development.

The new agreement also includes provisions for further extension of the alliance towards the end of the new three year term.

Astex retains the right to an exclusive worldwide licence to take the most promising projects forward into pre-clinical and clinical drug development. In return, Cancer Research UK and Newcastle University are eligible to receive milestone and royalty payments on any compounds that Astex takes into clinical development and successfully commercialises.

Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, said: "We’re delighted to extend this major collaboration which accelerates the development of Cancer Research UK’s world class work into new treatments for patients.

"Promising new compounds resulting from this partnership are now progressing towards the next stage of development. Multi-project alliances like this are powerful engines for innovation and drug discovery and this announcement underlines Cancer Research UK’s exceptional track record of bringing these together successfully."

Steve Wedge, Professor of Stratified Cancer Medicine Discovery at Newcastle University, said: "The innovative academic-industry collaborative model pioneered with Astex has been a genuine success and we are thrilled to be able to continue working in partnership on our drug discovery research.

"The alliance benefits significantly from complementary expertise and provides a route to progress promising novel therapies towards clinical use."

Dr Harren Jhoti, President and Chief Executive Officer of Astex, said: "The extension of our agreement with Newcastle and Cancer Research UK underlines the success of our existing alliance and the importance we place on collaboration with world leading academic research groups to strengthen our efforts to discover new treatments for patients.

"We look forward to continuing our important work and to continued success in bringing new compounds into development."

On August 17, 2017 AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., (Merck: known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada) reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the PARP inhibitor, Lynparza (olaparib), as follows:

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● New use of Lynparza as a maintenance treatment for recurrent, epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal adult cancer who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of BRCA status;
● New use of Lynparza tablets (2 tablets twice daily) as opposed to capsules (8 capsules twice daily);
● Lynparza tablets also now indicated (conversion from the current accelerated approval) for the use in patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer, who have been treated with three or more prior lines of chemotherapy (Press release, AstraZeneca, AUG 17, 2017, View Source [SID1234520271]).

Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer, AstraZeneca, said: "Physicians have almost three years of clinical experience with Lynparza on the market and we are now pleased to bring this important medicine, in a new tablet formulation, to a broader group of women. Today’s approvals validate more than 10 years of dedicated research behind Lynparza, the world’s first PARP inhibitor, which now provides oncologists with the greater flexibility for use in terms of treatment settings. It builds on our recently-announced collaboration with Merck, which aims to further increase the number of treatment options available to patients."

Eric Pujade-Lauraine, Head of the Women Cancers and Clinical Research Department at Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Centre, site Hôtel-Dieu, AP-HP and Principal Investigator of the SOLO-2 trial, one of the trials supporting the approval, said: "Today’s approval is welcome news for US patients with ovarian cancer, who are now able to benefit from treatment with olaparib irrespective of their BRCA-mutation status. This latest regulatory milestone underscores the breadth and depth of clinical data on olaparib, and not only demonstrates its efficacy as maintenance therapy, but adds to the data presented earlier this year showing sustained quality of life for patients undergoing treatment for this serious disease."

Roger M. Perlmutter, President of Merck Research Laboratories, said: "We congratulate AstraZeneca on the approval of these new indications and the new dosage form and schedule for Lynparza, an important therapeutic advance for many patients with ovarian cancer. This is a significant first regulatory event in our collaboration with AstraZeneca. We look forward to working with AstraZeneca in our global collaboration to bring this medicine with its new indications to patients."

Two randomised trials supported the new approvals and the conversion of accelerated approval to full approval which was originally based on a single-arm trial:
● SOLO-2 (n=295) confirmed the benefit of Lynparza in germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm) patients, demonstrating a 70% reduced risk of disease progression or death (HR 0.30 [95% CI, 0.22-0.41], P<0.0001) and improved progression-free survival (PFS) to 19.1 vs 5.5 months for placebo by investigator-assessed analysis.

● Study 19 (n=265) showed that Lynparza reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 65% and improved PFS compared with placebo in patients of any BRCA status (HR 0.35 [95% CI, 0.25-0.49], P<0.0001; median PFS of 8.4 months vs 4.8 months for placebo). Additionally, patients in Study 19, treated with Lynparza as a maintenance therapy, had a median overall survival (OS) of 29.8 months vs 27.8 months for placebo (HR 0.73 [95% CI, 0.55-0.95]).

Table 1. Summary of key efficacy results from randomised trials:
Analysis
Reduction in the risk of disease progression or death (PFS)
Reduction in the risk of death (OS)
SOLO-2
[gBRCAm]
Lynparza
70% (HR 0.30 [95% CI, 0.22-0.41], P<0.0001)
Data not yet mature
Placebo
Study 19
[PSR OC*]
Lynparza
65% (HR 0.35 [95% CI, 0.25-0.49], P<0.0001)
27% (HR 0.73 [95% CI, 0.55-0.95]
Placebo
*PSR = Platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer

The most-common adverse events reported in 20% or more of patients across the SOLO-2 trial in the Lynparza arm were anaemia (44%), nausea (76%), vomiting (37%), diarrhoea (33%), fatigue/asthenia (66%), decreased appetite (22%), headache (25%), and dysgeusia (27%). The most-common Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were anaemia (20%), nausea (2.6%), vomiting (2.6%), diarrhoea (1.0%), fatigue/asthenia (4.1%), and headache (0.5%). Discontinuation of Lynparza resulting from adverse events was seen in 11% of patients. Dose interruptions of Lynparza due to an adverse reaction of any grade was 45%. Dose reductions of Lynparza due to an adverse reaction was 25%.

The most-common adverse events reported in 20% or more of patients across the Study 19 trial in the Lynparza arm were anaemia (23%), nausea (71%), vomiting (35%), diarrhoea (27%), fatigue (including asthenia) (63%), decreased appetite (21%), and headache (21%). The most-common Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were anaemia (7.4%), nausea (2.2%), vomiting (2.2%), diarrhoea (2.2%), and fatigue (including asthenia) (8.8%). Discontinuation of Lynparza resulting from adverse events was seen in 4% of patients. Dose interruptions of Lynparza due to an adverse reaction of any grade was 25%. Dose reductions of Lynparza due to an adverse reaction was 15%.

The full data from the SOLO-2 trial can be found in the 25 July 2017 publication of The Lancet Oncology.

Lynparza was first approved under the FDA’s Accelerated Approval programme in December 2014, as a capsule formulation, making it the first poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor approved. Since then, more than 3,000 advanced ovarian cancer patients have been treated with Lynparza capsules in its approved indication.

About SOLO-2
SOLO-2 was a Phase III, randomised, double-blinded, multicentre trial designed to determine the efficacy of Lynparza tablets as a maintenance monotherapy compared with placebo, in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed or recurrent gBRCA-mutated ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancer. The trial, conducted in collaboration with the European Network for Gynaecological Oncological Trial Groups (ENGOT) and Groupe d’Investigateurs National pour l’Etude des Cancers de l’Ovaire et du sein (GINECO), randomised 295 patients with documented germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations who had received at least 2 prior lines of platinum-based chemotherapy and were in complete or partial response. Eligible patients were randomised to receive 300mg Lynparza tablets twice daily or placebo tablets twice daily.

About Study 19
Study 19 was a Phase II, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of Lynparza compared with placebo in relapsed, high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients, involving 82 sites across 16 countries. Patients received Lynparza maintenance monotherapy, at a dose of 400mg per day or matching placebo. Treatment continued until disease progression if toxicities were manageable.

About Lynparza
Lynparza is an innovative, first-in-class oral poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor that may exploit tumour DNA damage response (DDR) pathway deficiencies to preferentially kill cancer cells. It is approved by regulatory authorities in the EU and US for the treatment of women with BRCAm ovarian cancer.

Lynparza is the foundation of AstraZeneca’s industry-leading portfolio of potential new medicines targeting DDR mechanisms in cancer cells. Lynparza tablets are currently being tested in combinations in a range of tumour types including breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

About the AstraZeneca and Merck Strategic Oncology Collaboration
On 27 July 2017, AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., announced a global strategic oncology collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialise AstraZeneca’s Lynparza, the world’s first and leading PARP inhibitor, and potential new medicine selumetinib, a MEK inhibitor, for multiple cancer types. The collaboration is based on increasing evidence that PARP and MEK inhibitors can be combined with PDL-1/PD-1 inhibitors for a range of tumour types and is aimed at maximising the potential of Lynparza to become the preferred backbone of combination therapies. Working together, the companies will jointly develop Lynparza and selumetinib in combination with other potential new medicines and as a monotherapy. Independently, the companies will develop Lynparza and selumetinib in combination with their respective PD-L1 and PD-1 medicines.

About AstraZeneca in Ovarian Cancer
Worldwide, ovarian cancer is the 7th most-commonly diagnosed cancer and the 8th most-common cause of cancer death in women. The risk of developing ovarian cancer is increased in women with specific inherited genetic abnormalities, including BRCA mutations. AstraZeneca is committed to the continued development of our R&D portfolio for ovarian cancer, with a focus on improved care for all patients, including the development of targeted therapies for patients with specific gene mutations such as BRCA.