Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[cjgaddy]

Nov6-9 “SITC 2014 – 29th Annual-Meeting”: Bavi+Sorafenib/LiverCancer IST “correlative studies” data, followup data from AntiPS+AntiPD1/Melanoma preclin. studies, and 2 other posters about PS-targeting Mabs’ ability to “enhance activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors”. 4 Peregrine Posters total now appearing on the SITC conf. website…

Nov6-9: “SITC 2014 – 29th Annual Meeting”, National Harbor MD
SITC = The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer http://www.sitcancer.org
SITC 2014 Meeting: http://www.eventscribe.com/2014/sitc
“Known as the premier destination for scientific exchange, education and networking in the cancer immunotherapy community, attendees will be a part of more than 1,100 anticipated basic, clinical, and translational scientists from academia, gov’t, and industry, along with other top medical professionals from around the world, all dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes through cancer immunotherapy.”
ABSTRACTS: “All abstracts submitted to the SITC 29th Annual Meeting will be published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer [ http://www.immunotherapyofcancer.org ], the official journal of SITC. This issue will be released on Thur. Nov. 6, 2014.”
- - - - - - -
• A. FROM PPHM’S 9-9-14 PR: “Data from the company's immuno-oncology program, as well as clinical translational data aimed at assessing & measuring changes in immune response pre- and post-treatment from the Liver Cancer IST will be the subject of presentations at the SITC 29th Annual Meeting to be held Nov. 6-9, 2014.”
• B. Jeff Hutchins, PhD (VP, Pre-Clinical Dev., PPHM) - 9-9-14 PPHM Conf.Call: “Addl. data from the preclin. study presented at ImVacS [8-11-14, bavi+AntiPD1/BreastCancer – see http://tinyurl.com/lpjy3u7 & http://tinyurl.com/oueldme ], as well as a follow-up data from our Melanoma study [ie, pre-clin. Bavi+AntiPD1, not the Bavi+Ipilimumab(Yervoy)/Melanoma IST] will be presented at the 29th SITC Annual Meeting to be held in November.”

DETAILS – via http://www.eventscribe.com/2014/sitc/SearchByKeyword.asp
A. Poster# P214: “Correlative Studies of a Phase II Clinical Study of Bavituximab & Sorafenib in Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular [Liver] Carcinoma”
• UTSW-MC/Dallas: Adam Yopp MD[PI, Liver IST], Xianming Huang PhD, Rolf Brekken PhD
• PEREGRINE PHARM: Nikoletta Kallinteris MSc CCRP, Jeff Hutchins PhD, Kerstin Menander MD PhD, Steve King MSc
• UNIV. OF PENN: Xiaowei Xu MD PhD
• WISTAR INSTITUTE (Philadelphia): Dmitry Gabrilovich MD PhD

B. Poster# P205: “Targeting of Phosphatidylserine by Monoclonal Antibodies Enhances Activity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Breast Tumors”
PEREGRINE PHARM: Bruce Freimark PhD (Dir/PreClinRES), Jian Gong MD PhD (Sr.Sci.), Van Nguyen PhD (Sci.), Shen Yin PhD (Post-Doc.), Rich Archer MS (Sr.Sci.), Emely Nguyen (intern), Jeff Hutchins PhD (VP/PreClin-Res.)

C. Poster# P213: “Antibody-Mediated Phosphatidylserine Blockade Significantly Enhances the Efficacy of Downstream Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in K1735 Mouse Melanoma”
• UTSW-MC/Dallas: Xianming Huang PhD, Dan Ye, Rolf Brekken PhD, Alan Schroit PhD
• PEREGRINE PHARM: Bruce Freimark PhD (Dir/PreClinRES), Jian Gong MD PhD (Sr.Sci.), Van Nguyen PhD (Sci.), Shen Yin PhD (Post-Doc.), Rich Archer MS (Sr.Sci.), Jeff Hutchins PhD (VP/PreClin-Res.)
• UNIV. OF CALIF/IRVINE: Chris C.W. Hughes PhD [Prof.&Chair - http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~cchughes ]

D. Poster# P271: “Antibody-Mediated Blockade of Phosphatidylserine Enhances the Anti-Tumor Activity of Targeted Therapy & Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors by Affecting Myeloid and Lymphocyte Populations in the Tumor Microenvironment”
• UTSW-MC/Dallas: Rolf Brekken PhD, Adam Yopp MD[PI, Liver IST], Xianming Huang PhD
• PEREGRINE PHARM: Bruce Freimark PhD (Dir/PreClinRES), Nikoletta Kallinteris MSc CCRP, Joe Shan MPH (VP/Clin+RegAffairs), Kerstin Menander MD PhD, Jeff Hutchins PhD, Steve King MSc
• WISTAR INSTITUTE (Philadelphia): Dmitry Gabrilovich MD PhD
ABSTRACT:
The underlying cause for the failure of immune checkpoint blockade is the overwhelming, persistent and multifocal immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment. This is due to the absence of pre-existing antitumor Teff because of the action of important upstream immune checkpoints that recruit immunosuppressive cytokines (e.g., TGF-beta and IL-10) and tumor infiltrating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs) and M2 macrophages that can occupy up to 50% of the tumor mass.
The membrane phospholipid, phosphatidylserine (PS), is an upstream immune checkpoint. In normal non-tumorigenic cells, PS is segregated to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane but becomes externalized to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane in cells in the tumor microenvironment. PS is recognized and bound by PS receptors on immune cells where it induces and maintains immune suppression. PS-targeting agents block PS-mediated immunosuppression by multifocal reprograming of the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment to support immune activation. Antibody-mediated PS blockade reduces the levels of MDSC, TGF-beta, and IL-10 and increases the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-12. PS blockade also re-polarizes tumor-associated macrophages (TAM’s) from predominant M2 to predominant M1 phenotype, promotes the maturation of dendritic cells (DC’s) and induces potent adaptive antitumor T-cell immunity.
In a phase II clinical study [Bavi+Sorafenib/LiverCancer/HCC Ph.1/2 UTSW IST http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01264705 ], immunohistochemical evaluation of HCC tumor tissues post combination treatment indicated an increase of immune infiltrates; raising the potential of a clinically meaningful anti-tumor immune response. Pre-clinically, we demonstrate that PS targeting agents enhance the anti-tumor activity of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies in immunocompetent models of melanoma (B16 and K1735) and breast (EMT-6) cancer and that tumor growth inhibition correlates with an increase in the infiltration of activated T cells and myeloid cells and the induction of adaptive immunity. In summary, PS blockade in combination with targeted therapy and other immune checkpoint inhibitors promotes a robust, localized, anti-tumor response and represents a promising strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

= = = = = = = = = = = = =
H. 1st Investigator-Sponsored (IST) Ph.I/II Trial (Bavi+Sorafenib vs. Liver Cancer/HCC, open-label)
...Note: Sorafenib = Onyx/Bayer's Nexavar - see http://www.nexavar.com
Protocol: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01264705 UTSW: http://tinyurl.com/mwdc2ql (5 sites: 3/UTSW, Parkland-Hosp, Dallas/VA, PI=Dr. Adam Yopp)
...4-4-12 AACR'12: Dr. Adam Yopp, "promising safety profile to-date" http://tinyurl.com/7yrwqm7 (see #5591)
...Feb'12-Sep’14 10+ times: CEO Steve King hints of future ex-US partner-driven Bavi+Sorafenib/LIVER trial in Asia: http://tinyurl.com/nkaxtcc
......Articles & Data describe Liver Cancer challenges in Asian populations: http://tinyurl.com/7z7o8j9 & http://tinyurl.com/7z99cy4
...12-1-10: PPHM's 1st IST (Liver Cancer) initiated at UTSW, ~56 patients - http://tinyurl.com/3xd3e6c
…Per S.King, 5-18-10/R&R, "We've had a lot of interest in running clinical trials with the compound from investigators who have either had prior experience with the drug or would like to study the drug in various settings. Potential IST indications include all the major solid tumor types. Of particular interest is Liver Cancer, in which we have a natural tie-in with our HCV program, Ovarian Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer, also very nicely supported by the prior data."