APAC biotech partners with Roche in cancer drug trial

Pharma News: An Asia Pacific based biotechnology company has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Roche to evaluate the company’s highly selective MNK1/2 inhibitor, in combination with Roche’s anti-PD-L1 therapy, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), across multiple solid tumour indications, leading with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Urothelial Cancer (UC).

As a monotherapy, AUM Biosciences’ AUM001 demonstrated excellent safety, tolerability, and target engagement in two Phase 1 studies. In a multiple ascending dose Phase 1 trial completed in March 2021, there were no Grade 3/4 treatment emergent AEs or dose limiting toxicities (DLTs).

“Targeted immunotherapies have improved overall survival in a segment of patients with advanced or metastatic cancers. However, there remains a critical need for novel clinical therapies that can further prolong survival in checkpoint inhibitor responsive patients as well as make unresponsive patients responsive AUM001 has a unique proposition where we anticipate preventing or delaying T-cell exhaustion as well as potently stimulating the innate immune system will lead to superior outcomes for cancer patients,” noted Harish Dave, CMO of AUM Biosciences.

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Last year, Tecentriq became the first cancer immunotherapy to help people with resectable early lung cancer live longer without their cancer returning. The Phase III IMpower010 study that evaluated Tecentriq compared with best supportive care (BSC), met its primary endpoint of disease-free survival (DFS) at the interim analysis. Tecentriq showed a statistically significant improvement in DFS as adjuvant therapy following surgery and chemotherapy in all randomised stage II-IIIA populations with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The magnitude of DFS benefit was particularly pronounced in the PD-L1-positive population.

Tecentriq is a registered trademark of Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.