ASCO Preview: Immutep, InxMed and Faron Release New Clinical Findings
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held in Chicago from June 3 to 7 will introduce hundreds of posters, abstracts and presentations of exciting cancer studies, preclinical and clinical. Here’s a look ahead at just three international presenters.
Immutep to Present Interim Data from Lung Cancer Trial
Australia’s Immutep will present new interim data from Part A of its Phase II TACTI-002 in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study is evaluating eftilagimod alpha in combination with Merck’s anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab). Eftilagimod is a soluble LAG-3 protein. The drug combination demonstrated an improved overall response rate (ORR) of 37.3% in its intent to treat the population and compared to 36.1% presented at last year’s ASCO meeting. Responses were seen in all PD-L1 subgroups with 32% ORR in patients with no or low PD-L1 levels, and the combination demonstrated an improved disease control rate of 73.3% compared to 66.7% at last year’s meeting.
The company is also presenting an abstract for the design of its ongoing Phase IIb TACTI-003 trial at the meeting. That trial is evaluating the same drug combination as first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
InxMed’s FAK Inhibitor Demonstrates Robust Efficacy in Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
China’s InxMed Co. is presenting a poster demonstrating the robust efficacy of its IN10018 in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. The data is from an open-label Phase Ib trial. The drug is a highly potent and selective oral inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in combination with the chemotherapy drug pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). The combination of IN10018 and PLD demonstrated promising antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile. There was an overall response rate of 56.7%.
“We are extremely pleased with the data as it demonstrates the superior efficacy and safety of our IN10018, as well as confirming the proof of mechanism of IN10018 regimen,” stated Dr. Zaiqi Wang, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of InxMed. “We are excited by this outcome and are working hard on completing this study and determining the further design for subsequent pivotal study. FAK is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that plays an important role in cell adhesion, migration, and regulation. It exhibits expression upregulation in multiple tumor types. Researchers have found that inhibiting the FAK signaling pathway can effectively reverse previously failed chemotherapy and targeted therapy caused by drug resistance and enhance the response and efficacy of immunotherapy for solid tumors.”
Faron’s Biomarker Analysis of Bexmarilimab Benefit
Faron Pharmaceuticals, with offices in Turku, Finland and Boston, will present new biomarker data from the ongoing Phase I/II MATINS (Macrophage Antibody to Inhibit Immune Suppression) trial of bexmarilimab. The MATINS study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of bexmarilimab by itself in patients with solid tumors who have exhausted all treatment options. The immunotherapy targets Clever-1, a receptor that is expressed on immunosuppressive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. It works by converting highly immunosuppressive M2 macrophages to immune stimulating M1 macrophages, which trigger antigen presentation and promotes leukocytes to secrete interferon gamma. This turns so-called “cold” tumors into “hot” tumors, letting the immune system recognize and target cancer cells.
The biomarker data suggest that the tumors of the patients receiving benefit from the drug express low levels of PD-L1. Median PD-L1 Combined Positive Score (CPS) was 1 in patients receiving benefit, while the PD-L1 CPS score was 5 for patients who did not benefit. Also, the data showed that patients with higher Clever-1 tumors were more likely to show benefits from bexmarilimab.
“While the arrival of currently available checkpoint inhibitors was, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting breakthroughs in cancer care, their low response rate in most tumor types continues to hinder their clinical application,” said Dr. Petri Bono, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Terveystalo Finland and principal investigator of the MATINS trial. “There remains an urgent need for effective new treatment options, including novel assets that work synergistically with existing checkpoint inhibitors to ignite and amplify the patient’s immune response.”