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MedNess: bite-size biopharma and medtech news

9th June, 2021

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MedNess This Week
HIGHLIGHTS
Onco-I-Analyse
Bayer acquires radiotherapeutics biotechs for prostate cancer portfolio expansion
On 3rd June, Bayer entered into an agreement to acquire Noria Therapeutics Inc. (Noria) and its subsidiary, PSMA Therapeutics Inc. to expand its oncology portfolio of targeted alpha radionuclide therapies (TATs) and theranostic agents.
Details: The acquisition, whose financial details remain undisclosed, allows Bayer to gain exclusive rights to a differentiated preclinical-stage alpha radionuclide, actinium-225 investigational compound, and a small molecule targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).
The acquired companies have exclusive world-wide rights to Weill Cornell Medicine- and Johns Hopkins University – licensed technology.
Bayer’s current prostate cancer (PC) TAT portfolio includes Xofigo, approved for symptomatic bone metastases in castration-resistant PC patients and targeted thorium-227 conjugated TATs, including PSMA-TTC, in clinical development. PSMA-TTC (BAY 2315497) is currently in Phase I clinical development for mCRPC. Bayer plans to pursue the acquired asset for the treatment of mCRPC.
Implications: The addition and planned evaluation of actinium-225-labeled PSMA-TAT across different stages of PC will reinforce Bayer’s standing in the area after declining Xofigo sales in recent years. Novartis has been a leader in PSMA-targeted theranostics and has recently shown superior OS with LuPSMA in a Phase III VISION study in patients with PSMA+ mCRPC. The company picked up the asset after acquisition of Endocyte and plans to submit the data to regulatory bodies for approval. This will make LuPSMA the first approved theranostic in prostate cancer.

 
Collated by : Shilpa Rawal, PhD
Regulatory News

U.S. FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation Granted for Teclistamab for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
“We are pleased to have received Breakthrough Therapy and PRIME Designations for our novel bispecific antibody, teclistamab,” said Peter Lebowitz, M.D., Ph.D., Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. “This program exemplifies our commitment to advancing science for patients living with multiple myeloma, and it builds upon our robust portfolio in this disease.”

Acceptance of NDA Granted with Priority Review of Pacritinib for Treatment of Patients with Myelofibrosis
"We are pleased that the FDA's acceptance of our NDA brings us one step closer to our goal of providing myelofibrosis patients with severe thrombocytopenia a new treatment option," said Adam R. Craig, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of CTI Biopharma. "With commercial preparation underway, we believe we will be well positioned for a potential U.S. launch later this year. We look forward to working with the FDA during its review of our application."
Trial Results
Results of IDMC Review of Safety Data From ENVASARC Pivotal Trial Announced; Trial to Continue as Planned
“We are pleased with the recommendation of the Data Monitoring Committee to continue the ENVASARC pivotal trial as planned,” said James Freddo, M.D., TRACON’s Chief Medical Officer, “Envafolimab has been well-tolerated as a single agent and when combined with Yervoy in these patients with refractory sarcoma who are enrolled in the ENVASARC trial. Based on the current accrual rate, we expect the Data Monitoring Committee to review additional safety data in the third quarter and to review interim efficacy data in the fourth quarter of this year.”
Updates on efficacy data with derazantinib in bile duct cancer and on ongoing clinical programs in urothelial and gastric cancer provided
Dr. Marc Engelhardt, Chief Medical Officer, said: “We are very pleased with the more mature results from the first fully enrolled patient cohort of the FIDES-01 study. The progression-free survival of 7.8 months is in the upper range reported for this endpoint with FGFR-inhibitors in this patient population. Derazantinib also continues to show a well-manageable safety profile, with low rates of retinal side effects, stomatitis, hand-foot syndrome, and nail toxicity. Overall, these results underscore the favorable benefit to risk profile of derazantinib as a monotherapy in bile duct cancer.”
Click here for more Trial Results
Trial/Program Status
VERSATILE-002 study of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA® in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Expanded to Include Patients Who Have Failed Prior Treatment with Checkpoint Inhibitors
“There is an enormous unmet medical need in advanced head and neck cancer patients who have failed multiple therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation and checkpoint inhibitor therapy. We believe the combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA® has the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for these patients who have limited treatment options,” commented Dr. Lauren Wood, Chief Medical Officer of PDS Biotech.
Addition of PFS as a Second Primary Endpoint in OVAL, a Ph 3 Registration Enabling Study of VB-111 in Ovarian Cancer Announced
“The addition of PFS as a second independent primary endpoint has several very important implications on the OVAL study,” said Bradley Monk, M.D., FACS, FACOG, Arizona Oncology (U.S. Oncology Network), and Chair of the OVAL Study Steering Committee. “First, it de-risks the study, as it provides two options for study success. Second, it should accelerate the time to clinical readout and to potential approval, as PFS data are expected during 2022. Third, keeping OS as a primary endpoint preserves the opportunity of differentiating VB-111 from current ovarian cancer treatments, which were approved based on PFS data and have not as yet shown an OS benefit.”
Click here for more Trial Statuses
Conference Coverage: Highlights from American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021
  1. AbbVie to Showcase Breadth of Oncology Portfolio and Pipeline
  2. AB Science announced results from masitinib study AB12005 in pancreatic cancer
  3. ADC Therapeutics Presents Updated Clinical Data
  4. Allogene Therapeutics Presents Positive Ph 1 Data on ALLO-501 and ALLO-501A in R/R Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
  5. Astellas to Present Data from Expanding Oncology Portfolio
  6. AstraZeneca data support ambition to revolutionise cancer outcomes by treating earlier and transforming the patient experience
  7. AVEO Oncology Announces Positive Results from Randomized Ph 2 Study of Ficlatuzumab in Combination with Cetuximab in Pan-Refractory, Metastatic HNSCC
  8. AVEO Oncology Announces Presentation of Long-Term Efficacy Follow Up, Additional Tolerability Data from the Ph 3 TIVO-3 Study of FOTIVDA® (tivozanib) in R/R RCC
  9. BeiGene to Showcase Broad Clinical Portfolio
  10. Beyondspring presents Ph 1 data on the anti-cancer effect of plinabulin in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in SCLC
  11. BMS Presents Data from CheckMate -648 Showing Opdivo + Chemotherapy and Opdivo + Yervoy Significantly Improved OS Compared to Chemotherapy in Unresectable Advanced or mESCC
  12. BMS Announces Relatlimab and Nivolumab Fixed-Dose Combination Significantly Improves PFS vs. Opdivo in Patients with Previously Untreated Metastatic or Unresectable Melanoma
  13. Clovis Oncology Highlights Rubraca® (Rucaparib) And Lucitanib Data
  14. Coherus and Junshi Biosciences Announce Toripalimab in Combination with Chemotherapy Met Primary PFS Endpoint as 1L Treatment for Recurrent or Metastatic NPC
  15. Daiichi Sankyo Advances Science Across Three Lead DXd ADCs with New Data in Multiple Cancers
  16. Data from EMD Serono’s Oncology Portfolio Highlight Significant Advances in Cancer Care
  17. Early amcenestrant data support its potential to become a new endocrine backbone therapy for ER+/HER2- breast cancer
  18. Eisai to present data on oncology pipeline and products
  19. Exelixis Announces Consistent Efficacy Benefits Across Subgroups of Ph 3 CheckMate -9ER Trial of CABOMETYX® + OPDIVO® as a First-line Treatment for Patients with Advanced RCC
  20. Fate Therapeutics Highlights Positive Interim Data from its Ph 1 Study of FT516 in Combination with Rituximab for B-cell Lymphoma
  21. Four-Year Data from Phase 3 CheckMate -227 Trial Show Durable, Long-Term Survival with Opdivo + Yervoy (ipilimumab) in NSCLC Patients with PD-L1 Expression ≥1%
  22. Genmab Announces Abstracts Evaluating Products in Pipeline, Portfolio
  23. Gilead-Kite Oncology to Present Transformative Science From Growing Portfolio
  24. Incyte and MorphoSys Announce Three-Year Results from Ph 2 L-MIND Study of Tafasitamab in Combination with Lenalidomide for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory DLBCL
  25. IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib)-Based Combination Regimen as a Fixed-Duration, 1L Treatment for CLL Demonstrates High Rates of Disease Control
  26. Imfinzi demonstrated unprecedented survival in unresectable, Stage III lung cancer with 43% of patients surviving five years
  27. ImmunoGen Announces Mature Data from FORWARD II Study Evaluating Mirvetuximab Soravtansine + Avastin® in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer, Regardless of Platinum Status
  28. Immutep Reports Positive Data from its TACTI-002 Ph 2 Study of Efti
  29. Immutep Reports Positive Final Data from the INSIGHT-004 Ph 1 Study of Efti
  30. Iovance Biotherapeutics Announces 33-Month Follow Up Data for Lifileucel in Advanced Melanoma
  31. Janssen Presents Updated Data on First-in-Class Talquetamab Suggesting Deep and Durable Responses in Heavily Pretreated Patients with Multiple Myeloma
  32. Janssen’s Updated Ph 1 Results for Teclistamab Suggest Deep, Durable Responses in Patients with Heavily Pretreated Multiple Myeloma
  33. Karyopharm Announces XPOVIO® (selinexor) Data
  34. Kite's Tecartus® Demonstrates High Response Rate in Adults With Relapsed or Refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Earning Priority Review Designation
  35. Legend Biotech Announces New and Updated Data for Investigational BCMA CAR-T Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel (cilta-cel) for the Treatment of RRMM
  36. LIBTAYO® (CEMIPLIMAB-RWLC) presentations highlight expanding clinical data in diverse cancers
  37. Lilly Announces Details of Presentations
  38. Long-Term Data from Pivotal KarMMa Study Continue to Demonstrate Deep and Durable Responses and Predictable Safety Profile with BMS and bluebird bio’s Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel) in RRMM
  39. Long-term Data on Vitrakvi® (larotrectinib) Further Demonstrate Strong Clinical Profile in Patients with TRK Fusion Cancer Regardless of Tumor Type and Age
  40. Long-Term ERLEADA® (apalutamide) Patient-Reported Outcomes Data in Metastatic Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer Demonstrate Maintenance of Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients
  41. Lynparza reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by 42% in the adjuvant treatment of patients with germline BRCA-mutated high-risk early breast cancer in OlympiA Ph 3 trial
  42. MEI Pharma and Kyowa Kirin to Present Clinical Data from Ph 1b Study of Zandelisib in Combination with Zanubrutinib
  43. Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Given After Surgery Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by 32% Versus Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy in RCC Patients
  44. Merus Announces Publication of Abstract on Zenocutuzumab in NRG1-fusion (NRG1+) Cancers
  45. Novartis Kisqali® reports longest median OS in postmenopausal HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients
  46. Novartis to unveil new data from its robust portfolio, including overall survival in prostate and breast cancer
  47. Novartis investigational checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab met primary endpoint of OS in pivotal Ph 3 trial of esophageal cancer after systemic therapy
  48. Novartis reports clinically relevant improvement in median overall survival data in final analysis of pivotal NETTER-1 study with targeted radioligand therapy Lutathera
  49. Opdivo + Yervoy with Two Cycles of Chemotherapy Demonstrates Durable Overall Survival vs. Chemotherapy at Two Years in 1L NSCLC in Phase 3 CheckMate -9LA Trial
  50. Ph 2 Fight Trial Continues To Show Improved OS With Bemarituzumab Plus Chemotherapy In Patients With FGFR2b+ Gastric And Gastroesophageal Cancers
  51. Pivotal Phase III data at ASCO show Tecentriq helps certain people with early lung cancer live significantly longer without their disease returning
  52. Precision BioSciences to Present Data from its First Generation CD19 Allogeneic CAR T Program in Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
  53. Results From Ph 2 CodeBreaK 100 Show LUMAKRAS™ (sotorasib) Is The First And Only KRAS G12C Inhibitor With Overall Survival Data
  54. Results from IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) RESONATE-2 Study Provide Up to Seven Years of Progression-Free and Overall Survival Data in First-Line Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
  55. Roche announced new data on mosunetuzumab and glofitamab, and Polivy® (polatuzumab vedotin), in NHL
  56. Sanofi to showcase data from its transformative oncology pipeline
  57. Seagen and Astellas Announce Updated Results from Two Trials of PADCEV® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer Not Eligible for Cisplatin Chemotherapy
  58. Seagen Announces Long-Term Results from TUKYSA® (tucatinib) Pivotal Trial in Patients with HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
  59. Six-and-a-Half-Year Outcomes for Opdivo + Yervoy Continue to Demonstrate Durable Long-Term Survival Benefits in Patients with Advanced Melanoma
  60. Takeda Presents Updated Results for Mobocertinib, Further Substantiating the Clinical Benefit in Patients with EGFR Exon20 Insertion+ mNSCLC
  61. Takeda to Present Positive Primary Analysis from Ph 2 OPTIC Trial of ICLUSIG® (ponatinib), Reinforcing Ability to Address Gaps in Care for Chronic-Phase CML
  62. Trodelvy® Demonstrates Superior Outcomes to SoC in 2L Treatment of mTNBC in Ph 3 ASCENT Study
  63. TRACON Pharmaceuticals Presents Data From A Ph 1 Study Of Uliledlimab (TJ004309) And Tecentriq® (Atezolizumab)
  64. Updated Amivantamab and Lazertinib Combination Data Demonstrate Durable Responses and Clinical Activity for Osimertinib-Relapsed Patients with EGFR-Mutated NSCLC
  65. Updated Data Demonstrate Significant Improvement in Hematologic Complete Response with DARZALEX FASPRO® (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis
  66. Veru Announces Acceptance of Two Abstracts for Presentation
Collated by : Richa Tewari, PhD 
Genes and Therapy
Gene therapy restores vision in 11 patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa
Nanoscope Therapeutics undertook a one-year study following a single intravitreal injection of Multi-Characteristic Opsin (MCO) in a Phase 1/2a clinical study. Vision was restored in the 11 patients with this optogenetic gene monotherapy without the need of stimulating retinal implants or explants and irrespective of the genetic mutation background. Nanoscope utilizes MCO molecules to re-sensitize the degenerated retina to restore vision in an ambient light environment. The company plans to launch a late-stage Phase 2b trial this summer.
Cell and gene therapy sector in the lookout for non-viral transfection technology
The viral vectors presently used in the cell and gene therapy sector are all hard to transfect. But, due to safety and high cost, the sector is now looking for non-viral alternatives. Lonza’s vector-alternative is its Nucleofactor platform. An upgraded version of the platform, known as the 4D Nucleofector system, can transfect up to one billion cells in one experiment, which makes it particularly useful for cell and gene therapy. This is also being used for CAR-T therapies.
Click here for more on Genes and Therapy
MedNess Business
Onco-News
Immutep enters into a New Collaboration with Merck for LAG-3 Therapy, Efti
“Through INSIGHT-005, we plan to explore the effect of releasing the brakes and pushing the accelerator of the body’s immune system in three different positions of the cancer immunity cycle. The new trial builds on our knowledge and the encouraging data from the INSIGHT trial of efti, also in solid tumours. We are excited about this new clinical collaboration which allows us to extend and strengthen our relationship with an existing partner in a new and exciting setting, particularly at a time when there is growing awareness and validation of the LAG-3 MHC class II interaction,” said Immutep CEO Marc Voigt.
 
Genmab and Bolt Biotherapeutics Announce Oncology Research and Development Collaboration
“This exciting collaboration will provide a unique opportunity to combine Genmab’s innovative bispecific antibody technologies with Bolt’s powerful, advanced ISAC technology to develop targeted antibody products with the potential to transform cancer treatment,” said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. “Genmab’s partnership approach is part of our DNA and we are pleased to be collaborating with Bolt to develop and deliver potential next-generation cancer therapeutics to patients in need of novel treatment options.”
Business Review
FDA approves Biogen’s Aducanumab as treatment for all forms of Alzheimer’s disease

What does this mean for Biogen’s business?
Biogen Inc. (Biogen, Massachusetts, CA) was founded in 1978 by a group of scientists that included nobel laureate Walter Gilbert and Philip Sharp and went IPO in 1983. It merged with IDEC Pharmaceuticals (San Francisco, CA) in 2003 to become the world’s third largest Big Pharma and to enter the multiple sclerosis (MS) market with Avonex (interferon beta-1a), and the cancer drug market with Rituxan (rituximab). Biogen has focussed its R&D on neurological and haematological diseases with unmet needs and has the MS drugs Plegridy, Tysabri, Tecfidera, and Vumerity; the haemophilia drugs Eloctate and Alprolix, and the spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza in its portfolio. The Alzheimer’s drug, aducanumab, the latest and most important addition to its portfolio is set to generate billions in revenue for Biogen.
Aducanumab has made controversial news since March 2019 when Biogen pulled out of its identical phase 3 trials EMERGE and ENGAGE on account of not meeting the primary endpoint for reduced cognitive and functional impairment as measured by changes in the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score (over placebo). By October 2019, Biogen announced a post-hoc analysis showing statistically significant reduction in CDR-SB for EMERGE (P=0.01) and for a subset of ENGAGE patients, relative to placebo. The reversal of Aducanumab’s efficacy status was attributed to the cumulative effects of higher dosing and exposure time. There were no unmanageable side effects reported. This back and forth over efficacy showed the stock market speculations fluctuating as well, with Biogen stocks falling by 29% when the clinical trials were canned.
On 8th June 2021, FDA made a surprising announcement of clearing Aducanumab for use against all categories of Alzheimer’s patients, and not just the patient subset with early onset and mild cognitive impairment, as initially filed by Biogen. The reasons for this could be two-fold:
  1. There is no effective drug for Alzheimer’s, not even beta-amyloid inhibitors that completely clear plaques
  2. For a disease that has been confounding to understand, the FDA may have looked upon aducanumab, a drug with manageable side effects, as a Hail-Mary pass for Alzheimer’s treatment (which is currently an unmet condition)
Since the FDA announcement, Biogen’s stocks have risen by 38.4%. Whether this positive speculation will sustain is being debated as divided opinion covers skepticism over ENGAGE subset data analysis and interpretation, while more positive opinions consider the fact that aducanumab is the first anti-amyloid to elicit complete reversal of amyloid plaques, which is unprecedented among anti-amyloids. Further competitors in the space are few. Eli Lily’s donanemab, has shown promising plaque clearance activity but is still a long way off towards FDA approval. Further, a certain population of the physician community has voiced their reluctance to prescribe aducanumab across all Alzheimer’s groups.
But we should take into account that physicians many times relent to patients’ insistence on treatment options. With the FDA approval, aducanumab now has a bonafide label. With controllable side effects in the context of a life consuming disease, the prescription rates may well rise over the years. Further, with no direct competition at hand and a 9-year window granted to Biogen to provide confirmatory results from clinical trials, we may well be looking at the only therapeutic option to Alzheimer’s in aducanumab. In terms of stock investments, the positive speculation over aducanumab may last over the next half decade, and now is a good time to invest in Biogen stocks (BIIB.O).
In terms of Biogen’s business, which has relied on the blockbuster model, aducanumab is now the blockbuster that can replace the MS drug Tecfidera, whose patent no longer holds and consequently faces market dilution from generics. Aducanumab is estimated to earn Biogen between $10 billion to $15 billion per year according to Wall Street estimates. Aducanumab will be sold as Aduhelm at $56,000 annually and owns the market covering 1.5 million Alzheimer’s patients in America alone. For Biogen, going after diseases with unmet needs and orphan drugs (Spinraza), has worked in their favour so far.
Click here for more on mergers, acquisition and business news
Collated by : Richa Tewari, PhD and Divyaanka Iyer
Editors' Desk
Richa Tewari, PhD
Oncology News
Esha Sehanobish, PhD
MedNess Plus
Arundithi Ananthanarayanan
MedNess Reviews
Divyaanka Iyer
BioPharma News
Shilpa Rawal, PhD
Onco I-Analyse
Debarati Banik
HealthIT
Rinki Saha
BioPharma News
Managing Editor
Shalini Roy Choudhury
Genes and Therapy
Managing Editor
Nisha Peter, PhD
Managing Editor
Abhi Dey
Consulting Editor
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The sponsors do not have any influence on the nature or kind of the news/analysis reported in MedNess. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Medness. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized in real-world analytic products as they are based only on very limited and dated open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of anyone volunteering or working for Medness. This blog is strictly for news and information. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment nor investment suggestions. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
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Content Editors: Richa Tewari , Esha SehanobishRinki Saha ,  Shilpa Rawal, PhD ,  Debarati Banik  , Divyaanka Iyer , Arundithi Ananthanarayanan and Abhinav Dey 
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