The main Phase I monotherapy study had a favorable safety profile, showing that Ad+V was safely administered and tolerably in both craniotomy and stereotactic subjects.
Boston-based
ZIOPHARM Oncology
presented data
today at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting from its Phase I monotherapy study for Controlled IL-12, Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex (Ad+V). In addition, it provided updated clinical data from two Phase I sub-studies of Ad+V – a monotherapy expansion study and a combination study with a PD-1 inhibitor – for the treatment of adult recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM).
The main Phase I monotherapy study had a favorable safety profile, showing that Ad+V was safely administered and tolerably in both craniotomy and stereotactic subjects. In the expansion study, adverse reactions remained consistent with previously reported results.
“The results we have seen from the two Controlled IL-12 monotherapy studies are particularly promising, with median overall survival in unifocal patients after monotherapy Ad+V treatment remaining at 16.2 months after longer term follow-up, as well as encouraging preliminary data from the PD-1 combination study where median overall survival has not yet been reached,” said Dr. Antonio Chiocca, M.D., Ph.D., trial investigator and professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, Surgical Director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Chairman of Neurosurgery and Co-Director of the Institute for the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We also reported three additional partial responses, one in the monotherapy Main study, one in the Expansion study and one in the combination study, bringing the total number of partial responses (PRs) to five. Observing responses in brain tumors in the setting of recurrence is unusual and highly encouraging, and, along with the survival data, highlight the potential of Ad+V for the treatment of rGBM.”
To further investigate the use of Ad+V in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in rGBM subjects, a Phase II study looking into Ad+V in combination with Libtayo is currently being conducted.
“According to most recent data, even with the best available therapies, median overall survival for unifocal rGBM patients appears to be 6-12 months,” said Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Ziopharm. “We are therefore heartened by the collection of data presented at ASCO across our three studies, which demonstrate survival benefits beyond a year supported by imaging studies showing tumor regression and biopsies revealing that Ad+V administration turns ‘cold’ tumors ‘hot’ by recruiting T cells into the tumor. We look forward to continuing to report follow-up monotherapy and combination phase 1 data, as well as initial data from the ongoing phase 2 study of Ad+V in combination with Libtayo, which is nearing completion of enrollment.”
In June 2019, Ziopharm
announced the beginning
of the Phase II clinical trial evaluating Controlled IL-12 in combination with Libtayo for the treatment of rGBM. The goal was to enroll approximately 30 patients with rGBM, with primary endpoints being safety and efficacy.
“We piloted the combination of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and a PD-1-specific antibody in a phase 1 trial which lays the foundation for recruitment to this phase 2 study for patients with rGBM,” said Cooper, at the beginning of the study. “This trial seeks to further IL-12, which activates the patient’s own immune system to attack cancer, by coupling with the inhibition of PD-1 to enhance the effectiveness of the combination.”
In April 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation for Ziopharm’s Controlled IL-12 program for the treatment of rGBM in adults.