Friday, September 29, 2023
BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) (TASE: BLRX), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing life-changing therapies in oncology and rare diseases, today announced encouraging data from the single-arm pilot phase of the investigator-initiated CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 combination clinical trial evaluating the company's CXCR4 inhibitor motixafortide, the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab, and standard of care chemotherapies gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, versus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel alone, in first-line pancreatic cancer (PDAC).
The data were published in an online abstract as part of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer taking place in Boston, Massachusetts from September 27-30, 2023. An oral presentation of the data will take place later today, September 28, 2023.
The pilot phase of the Phase 2 study enrolled 11 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. As of May 2023, 6 patients (55%) experienced a partial response (PR) of which 4 (36%) were confirmed PRs with one patient experiencing resolution of the hepatic (liver) metastatic lesion. Three patients (27%) experienced stable disease, resulting in a disease control rate of 82%. These findings compare favorably to historic partial response and disease control rates of 23% and 48%, respectively, reported with the current standard of care, the chemotherapy combination gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel.
"These initial data from the pilot phase of this ongoing Phase 2 study give us hope that motixafortide could potentially serve as the backbone of a new treatment regimen for PDAC, which is among the most difficult cancers to treat," said Philip Serlin, Chief Executive Officer of BioLineRx Ltd. "We are deeply committed to this important collaboration with Columbia University investigators and eagerly look forward to the data from the randomized phase of the trial."
Based on these pilot data, earlier this year, the CheMo4METPANC Phase 2 trial was amended to become a randomized study, with planned enrollment increasing from 30 to 102 patients. The trial, sponsored by Columbia University, is the first large, multi-center, randomized study evaluating motixafortide with a PD-1 inhibitor and first-line PDAC chemotherapies. A poster of the amended clinical trial design was presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held June 2-6 in Chicago, Illinois (see abstract).
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and is expected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. by 2023. Because it is typically diagnosed at later stages, greater than 80 percent of pancreatic cancer is inoperable. Most pancreatic cancer is incurable and unfortunately newer immunotherapy approaches, while beneficial against other solid tumor types, have had limited efficacy in pancreatic cancer due to immunosuppressive pathways.
An earlier single-arm, Phase 2a clinical trial (COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202) and pre-clinical studies evaluating motixafortide in combination with PD-1 immunotherapies and chemotherapies in PDAC have been promising, suggesting the ability of motixafortide to support an immune response.
About BioLineRx
BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: BLRX) is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing life-changing therapies in oncology and rare diseases. The company's first approved product is APHEXDA™ (motixafortide) with an indication in the U.S. for stem cell mobilization for autologous transplantation in multiple myeloma. BioLineRx is advancing a pipeline of investigational medicines for patients with sickle cell disease, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumors. Headquartered in Israel, and with operations in the U.S., the company is driving innovative therapeutics with end-to-end expertise in development and commercialization, ensuring life-changing discoveries move beyond the bench to the bedside.
Contacts:
United States
John Lacey
BioLineRx
[email protected]
Israel
Moran Meir
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
[email protected]
