Polaris Group Presents Results for Phase 1 Clinical Study with its Lead Therapeutic Candidate ADI-PEG 20 Plus FOLFOX in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaris Group announced results from a phase 1 clinical study, showing that Polaris lead therapeutic candidate ADI-PEG 20 in combination with FOLFOX demonstrated promising efficacy for heavily pre-treated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.  The results were presented by Dr. James Harding from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at the American Society Clinical Oncology's 2018 annual meeting.  

Overall, 38 HCC patients who have failed at least one line of prior systemic treatment were enrolled and a partial response (PR) was observed in 8 (21.0%), including two in Taiwan. Of the 38, 21 had failed at least two lines of prior systemic treatment, and PRs were observed in 5/21 (23.8%). Currently, all 5 of the third-line or later PR patients are still alive, with 4 of 5 still undergoing treatment and 2 having now maintained a PR for over two years; thus suggesting responses can potentially be durable.

Side effects of the combination have been what would be expected for FOLFOX only, except for injection site reactions consistent with ADI-PEG 20's intramuscular route of administration.

Given these encouraging results, a meeting was held with the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Based on this meeting, the study has been expanded into a global, phase 2, single-arm study to support accelerated approval for HCC patients who have failed at least two lines of prior systemic therapies. This study is currently enrolling patients in the US and Taiwan, and will be expanded into UK, Italy, Korea and China.

"ADI-PEG 20 plus FOLFOX is showing more favorable efficacy compared to historic controls and the combination remains well tolerated. We appreciate the helpful comments of the FDA in assisting us to craft the phase 2 portion of this protocol," said John Bomalaski, M.D., Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs, of Polaris. "We now have a number of clinical trials underway with ADI-PEG 20 in combination with standard of care agents in multiple cancer indications. These other studies have also shown that ADI-PEG 20 in combination with multiple chemotherapy agents is well tolerated, and highly improves response rates. We are committed to developing an effective treatment for the 3^rd-line or later HCC patients who have no approved treatment option," he added.

About ADI-PEG 20

ADI-PEG 20 is a biologic being developed by Polaris Group to treat cancers carrying a major metabolic defect that renders them unable to internally synthesize arginine. Because arginine is essential for protein synthesis and survival of cells, these cancer cells become dependent upon the external supply of arginine to survive and grow. ADI-PEG 20 is designed to deplete the external supply of arginine, causing arginine-dependent cancer cells to die while leaving the patient's normal cells unharmed.  Multiple cancers have been reported to have a high degree of arginine-dependency and can potentially be treated with ADI-PEG 20.

About Polaris Group

Polaris Group specializes in the research and development of protein drugs to treat cancer and other debilitating diseases. In addition to ADI-PEG 20, Polaris Group is developing other therapeutic agents, including a small molecule drug program that utilizes a rational structure-based approach to design novel compounds that inhibit cancer-related targets.

For additional information please visit www.polarispharma.com

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SOURCE Polaris Group