- Trial has begun in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Who Have Few Treatment Options
BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADRO), a biopharmaceutical company with three distinct immunotherapy technologies, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 clinical trial (see www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT03189030) designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a personalized live, attenuated double-deleted Listeria monocytogenes (pLADD) immunotherapy for adults with metastatic colorectal cancer that is microsatellite stable (MSS). The personalized immunotherapy has been engineered with patient-specific neoantigens that were identified and selected using state-of-the-art neoantigen identification technology developed by Hanlee Ji, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
“Our pLADD program leverages our extensive capabilities relating to the use of Listeria as a delivery mechanism for cancer antigens and Dr. Ji’s innovative neoantigen technology used to identify immunogenic antigens specific for an individual patient,” said Natalie Sacks, M.D., chief medical officer of Aduro Biotech. “Together, we believe these two cutting edge technologies represent a new approach to treating patients who have relapsed following prior chemotherapy. We look forward to evaluating initial proof-of-concept in this Phase 1 clinical trial.”
Clinical Design of Phase 1 PLADD Trial in Adults with Metastatic Corlorectal Cancer
The Phase 1 clincial single-arm trial is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a personalized immunotherapy made using patient-specific antigens and Aduro’s proprietary live, attenuated, double-deleted Listeria monocytogenes platform technology. The trial is seeking to enroll approximately 10 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that is MSS. Patients will receive their patient-specific immunotherapy once every three weeks.
About pLADD
Personalized LADD, or pLADD, is a second-generation LADD technology that is designed to leverage the immune-activating activity of the Listeria bacterial vector in combination with neoantigens, which are unique, patient-specific tumor markers exclusively expressed in an individual’s tumor cells. Once administered, pLADD therapies are expected to mobilize the immune system in two ways--first, through the immediate recognition of the presence of Listeria as being foreign, and subsequently, through a specific and customized immune attack on cells containing the tumor neoantigens presented by pLADD.
To create a patient-specific pLADD therapy, a physician begins by removing tumor cells from the patient. These cells are analyzed in order to molecularly characterize (sequence) the tumor, including any mutations that are unique to the patient’s own tumor cells. Predictive algorithms for antigen processing are run to identify pertinent tumor antigens. Aduro then creates a LADD strain engineered to enable the presentation of multiple selected neoantigens in dendritic cells, with the aim of inducing a targeted, robust anti-cancer immune response.
Preclinical Data with pLADD
Preclinical data showed that mouse pLADD strains targeting tumor-specific neoepitopes induced a robust immune response, including induction of cytokines, chemokines, and antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. In preclinical models of pLADD, remodeling of the tumor microenvironment with an increase in the CD8:Treg ratio was observed. The combination of pLADD with an anti PD-1 agent led to a sustained immune response and significantly improved efficacy in these mouse tumor models.
About Aduro
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro’s technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body’s natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro’s LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. This platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including mesothelioma, gastric, ovarian, lung and prostate cancers. Additionally, a personalized form of LADD, or pLADD, is being developed utilizing tumor neoantigens that are specific to an individual patient’s tumor. Aduro’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the STING receptor in immune cells, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform is comprised of a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development, including BION-1301, an anti-APRIL antibody. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, the potential for pLADD and our technology platforms, the potential for the neoantigen identification technology that we are using for the pLADD program, our plans, the timing and availability of results of our clinical trials and those of our collaborators, the timing and receipt of milestone payments, and the potential for eventual regulatory approval of our product candidates. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “believe,” “will,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “project,” “expect,” “targeted” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our history of net operating losses and uncertainty regarding our ability to achieve profitability, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our ability to use and expand our technology platforms to build a pipeline of product candidates, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our ability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than we do, our reliance on third parties, and our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release.
Contact: Sylvia Wheeler SVP, Corporate Affairs 510 809 9264 Media Contact: Susan Lehner 510 809 2137 press@aduro.com
