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Cellectar’s Radiotherapeutic PDCs Demonstrate an Increased Survival Benefit Using Multiple Doses in Preclinical Studies

On April 27, 2017 Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLRB), (the "company"), an oncology-focused, clinical stage biotechnology company, reported preclinical data that demonstrate the utility of the company’s lead compound, CLR 131, and CLR 125 for use in solid tumors, as well as the potential benefits of a multi-dose treatment (Press release, Cellectar Biosciences, APR 27, 2017, View Source [SID1234518714]).

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The company conducted two studies assessing a single dose and two doses with either CLR 131 or CLR 125. In the first study, mice receiving two doses of CLR 131 50uCi (day 0 and day 42) experienced mean survival of 135.6 days versus 64.6 days for mice receiving a single dose of CLR 131 50uCi in a Capan-1 xenograft model of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The second dose provided double the survival benefit in this challenging disease model and it is possible that additional doses could further enhance these outcomes.

The second study assessed one versus two doses of CLR 125 in a PC3 prostate cancer xenograft model. Mice receiving two doses of approximately 500uCi (day 0 and day 28) achieved survival of 161 days compared to 135 days for mice receiving a single dose of approximately 500uCi. Importantly, the mice receiving two doses had nearly double the initial disease burden (as measured by tumor volume) than the mice in the control arm of the study, which experienced 122 days of survival.

The data from both of these solid tumor animal studies indicate that multiple doses of a radiotherapeutic phospholipid-ether drug conjugate (PDC) resulted in an increased survival benefit over a single dose. The pancreatic cancer model demonstrates the potential utility of CLR 131 in solid tumors. Additionally, the prostate cancer model, combined with prior research by other laboratories, suggests that increased disease burden may impact the efficacy of a single, fixed dose of a radiotherapeutic, and that additional survival benefit could be obtained via a multi-dose treatment.

"These experiments further validate the potential utility of our PDC platform, specifically CLR 131, in the treatment of both solid and hematologic cancers," said Jim Caruso, president and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences. "We are intrigued by the enhanced survival benefit seen with an additional dose in these studies and look forward to further exploring the effect of multiple doses in patients suffering from relapse and refractory hematologic malignancies in our ongoing Phase II clinical study."

About CLR 131
CLR 131 is an investigational compound under development for a range of hematologic malignancies. It is currently being evaluated as a single-dose treatment in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma as well as in a Phase II clinical trial for R/R MM and select R/R lymphomas with either a one- or two-dose treatment. Based upon preclinical and interim Phase I study data, treatment with CLR 131 provides a novel approach to treating hematological diseases and may provide patients with therapeutic benefits, including overall survival, an improvement in progression-free survival, surrogate efficacy marker response rate, and overall quality of life. CLR 131 utilizes the company’s patented PDC tumor targeting delivery platform to deliver a cytotoxic radioisotope, iodine-131, directly to tumor cells. The FDA has granted Cellectar an orphan drug designation for CLR 131 in the treatment of multiple myeloma.

About Phospholipid Drug Conjugates (PDCs)
Cellectar’s product candidates are built upon its patented cancer cell-targeting delivery and retention platform of optimized phospholipid ether-drug conjugates (PDCs). The company deliberately designed its phospholipid ether (PLE) carrier platform to be coupled with a variety of payloads to facilitate both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The basis for selective tumor targeting of our PDC compounds lies in the differences between the plasma membranes of cancer cells compared to those of normal cells. Cancer cell membranes are highly enriched in lipid rafts, which are glycolipoprotein microdomains of the plasma membrane of cells that contain high concentrations of cholesterol and sphingolipids, and serve to organize cell surface and intracellular signaling molecules. PDCs have been tested in more than 80 different xenograft models of cancer.

Pfizer’s Next-Generation ALK/ROS1 Inhibitor, Lorlatinib, Granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation from FDA for ALK-Positive Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

On April 27, 2017 Pfizer Inc. reported that its investigational next-generation ALK/ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, lorlatinib, was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), previously treated with one or more ALK inhibitors (Press release, Pfizer, APR 27, 2017, View Source [SID1234518709]).

Enacted as part of the 2012 FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA), Breakthrough Therapy designation is intended to expedite the development and review of a potential new medicine if it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies.1 The Breakthrough Therapy designation is distinct from the FDA’s other mechanisms to expedite drug development and review.2 ALK gene rearrangement is a genetic alteration that drives the development of lung cancer in some patients. 3,4 Due to additional mutations that the tumor may acquire during treatment, disease progression remains a challenge in patients with ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC.5

"This regulatory designation recognizes the potential for lorlatinib to provide an important treatment option for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC whose cancers have progressed despite treatment. Pfizer’s rapid development of lorlatinib reflects a commitment to developing biomarker-driven therapies to meet the evolving needs of patients," said Mace Rothenberg, MD, chief development officer, Oncology, Pfizer Global Product Development. "We look forward to working with the FDA to accelerate the development of this therapy."

The Breakthrough Therapy designation is supported by the efficacy and safety data of an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of lorlatinib, which includes patients with ALK-positive NSCLC who were previously treated with one or more ALK inhibitors.

Additionally, the Phase 3 CROWN study (NCT03052608) recently began enrolling patients. CROWN is an ongoing, open label, randomized, two-arm study comparing lorlatinib to crizotinib in the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic ALK-positive NSCLC. Please visit clinicaltrials.gov for more information on this study.

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Worldwide, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women.6 NSCLC accounts for about 85 percent of lung cancer cases and remains difficult to treat, particularly in the metastatic setting.7 Approximately 57 percent of NSCLC patients are diagnosed late with metastatic, or advanced, disease where the five-year survival rate is only 5 percent. 8 NSCLC can be further categorized into distinct subsets that are classified by a number of factors, including histology and the molecular makeup of the tumor. Epidemiology studies suggest that approximately 3 to 5 percent of NSCLC tumors are ALK-positive.9

About Lorlatinib

Lorlatinib is an investigational next-generation ALK/ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been shown to be highly active in preclinical lung cancer models harboring chromosomal rearrangements of both ALK and ROS1. Lorlatinib was specifically designed to inhibit tumor mutations that drive resistance to other ALK inhibitors and to penetrate the blood brain barrier. Lorlatinib is an investigational agent and has not received regulatory approval for any indication anywhere in the world.

DelMar to Present Poster of Clinical Research with VAL-083 in Patients with Chemo-Resistant Glioblastoma (“GBM”) at ASCO Annual Meeting

On April 27, 2017 DelMar Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DMPI) ("DelMar" and the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, reported that it will present a poster at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) held in Chicago, IL from June 2nd to June 6th, 2017 (Press release, DelMar Pharmaceuticals, APR 27, 2017, View Source [SID1234518707]).

The following poster will be presented during the Central Nervous System Tumors Session:

Date and Time:
June 5th at 1:15 PM – 4:45 PM central daylight time
Abstract Title:
Clinical Trials of VAL-083 in Patients With Chemo-Resistant
Glioblastoma.
Abstract ID:
TPS2082
About VAL-083

VAL-083 is a "first-in-class," small-molecule DNA-targeting agent that demonstrated clinical activity against a range of cancers including GBM in historical clinical trials sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institutes (NCI). DelMar has demonstrated that VAL-083’s anti-tumor activity against GBM is unaffected by the expression of MGMT in vitro. High expression of MGMT in MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients is correlated with chemo-resistance and poor survival following treatment with temozolomide, the current standard-of-care. Further details can be found at View Source

VAL-083 has received an orphan drug designation in Europe for the treatment of malignant gliomas and the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products has granted an orphan designation to VAL-083 for the treatment of glioma, medulloblastoma and ovarian cancer. Based on historic clinical trials run by NCI, the modern phase I/II dose finding trial run by DelMar in GBM (ASCO 2016), and recent guidance from the FDA, the Company is embarking on multiple phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for VAL-083 encompassing both front-line and recurrent GBM therapy.

DelMar has announced plans to advance VAL-083 into a pivotal randomized multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of bevacizumab-failed GBM. DelMar has also initiated a Phase 2 trial for bevacizumab-naïve recurrent MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients in collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Center. A separate international Phase 2 trial for newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated GBM will be initiated at Sun-Yat Sen University in Guangzhou China. DelMar believes that data from its clinical trials, if successful, will form the basis of a new treatment paradigm for the vast majority of GBM patients whose tumors exhibit features that make them unlikely to respond to currently available therapies. The poster at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2017 will highlight the clinical results to date and the Company’s clinical trial designs for VAL-083 in GBM.

About Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)

GBM is the most common and aggressive primary brain cancer. Current standard of care includes surgery, radiation and treatment with temozolomide (TMZ), however nearly all tumors recur and the prognosis for recurrent GBM is dismal. Most GBM tumors have unmethylated promoter status for O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT); a validated biomarker for TMZ-resistance. Second-line treatment with anti-angiogenic agent bevacizumab has not improved overall survival (OS) and 5-year survival is less than 3%. Dianhydrogalactitol (VAL-083) is a bi-functional alkylating agent targeting N7-Guanine and inducing interstrand DNA cross-links, double-strand breaks and cell death in GBM cell lines and GBM cancer stem cells, independent of MGMT status in vitro. VAL-083 readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and accumulates in brain tumor tissue. Our recent phase I/II clinical trial in recurrent GBM patients failing both TMZ and bevacizumab suggested that VAL-083 offers clinically meaningful survival benefits for patients with recurrent GBM and pinpointed a new dosing regimen (40 mg/m2/d on days 1, 2, and 3 of a 21-day cycle) which was well-tolerated and was selected for study in subsequent GBM trials. DelMar has initiated, or plans to initiate, three additional GBM trials, the results of which may support a new treatment paradigm in chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of GBM. These trials include:

i)
An ongoing single-arm, biomarker driven, Phase 2 study to determine if VAL-083 treatment of MGMT-unmethylated adult GBM patients at first recurrence/progression, prior to bevacizumab improves overall survival at 9 months, compared to historical control with lomustine (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02717962).
ii)
A planned pivotal Phase 3 study in recurrent GBM after failing both TMZ and bevacizumab. The control arm will consist of a limited number of salvage chemotherapies currently used in bevacizumab-failed GBM. If successful, this study will serve as the basis for a New Drug Application (NDA) submission for VAL-083.
iii)
A planned single arm, biomarker driven, Phase 2 study to confirm the tolerability and efficacy of VAL-083 in combination with radiotherapy in newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients whose tumors are known to express high MGMT levels. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03050736).

Myriad Genetics and Clovis Oncology Sign Agreement for Use of FDA-Approved BRACAnalysis CDx® Test to Identify Patients with Germline BRCA Mutations for Rubraca® (rucaparib) Treatment

On April 27, 2017 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) and Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) reported a companion diagnostic collaboration to support a post-marketing regulatory commitment related to Clovis’ PARP inhibitor, Rubraca. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed (Press release, Clovis Oncology, APR 27, 2017, View Source [SID1234518706]).

Under the agreement, Myriad will submit a supplementary premarket approval (sPMA) application under its existing PMA for BRACAnalysis CDx to include Rubraca. The Myriad sPMA submission will fulfill a post-approval regulatory commitment by Clovis Oncology to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Rubraca. In December 2016, Rubraca was approved for women with advanced ovarian cancer who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies and whose tumors have a deleterious BRCA mutation as identified by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test. The companion diagnostic test approved with Rubraca does not discriminate between germline and somatic mutations. Knowledge of germline status is important to provide patients appropriate counseling.

"BRACAnalysis CDx is the only germline companion diagnostic test approved by the FDA to identify patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, and we are excited to support Clovis’ clinical development program and help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from rucaparib," said Mark C. Capone, president and CEO, Myriad Genetics. "This agreement further solidifies Myriad’s leadership role in developing best-in-class companion diagnostics for use with PARP inhibitors and supports our goal of being the worldwide leader in personalized medicine.""This partnership with Myriad Genetics not only enables us to fulfill our post-marketing commitment to the FDA, but will enhance the companion diagnostic information already available to physicians and patients, providing a robust toolkit for personalizing treatment of patients with BRCA1/2 mutations," said Patrick J. Mahaffy, president and CEO, Clovis Oncology.

About Rubraca (rucaparib)
Rubraca is a PARP inhibitor indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with deleterious BRCA mutation (germline and/or somatic) associated advanced ovarian cancer, who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies, and selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for Rubraca. The indication for Rubraca is approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval program based on objective response rate and duration of response, and is based on results from two multicenter, single-arm, open-label clinical trials. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. Please visit rubraca.com for more information.

About BRACAnalysis CDx
BRACAnalysis CDx is an in vitro diagnostic device intended for the qualitative detection and classification of variants in the protein coding regions and intron/exon boundaries of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes using genomic DNA obtained from whole blood specimens collected in EDTA. Single nucleotide variants and small insertions and deletions (indels) are identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing. Large deletions and duplications in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are detected using multiplex PCR. BRACAnalysis CDx was reviewed and approved by the FDA in December 2014 for use as a companion diagnostic to aid in identifying ovarian cancer patients eligible for treatment with AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor, olaparib. This assay is for professional use only and is to be performed only at Myriad Genetic Laboratories, a single laboratory site located at 320 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108.

Agios and Aurigene Enter into Exclusive License Agreement for Novel Small Molecules for Cancer Metabolism Target

On April 27, 2017 Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited reported a global license agreement to research, develop and commercialize small molecule inhibitors of an undisclosed cancer metabolism target (Press release, Agios Pharmaceuticals, APR 27, 2017, View Source [SID1234518702]).

Under the terms of the agreement, Aurigene will provide Agios exclusive rights to its portfolio of novel small molecules for the undisclosed target. Financial terms of the agreement include a $3 million upfront payment and potential future milestone payments of up to $17 million per licensed product if certain development and regulatory milestones are achieved by Agios. Aurigene is also eligible to receive low single-digit royalties on product sales. Agios will conduct preclinical studies and, if successful, fund further global research and development, as well as regulatory and commercial activities.