Chk1

A study presented at ESMO 2024 showed that cancer patients vaccinated with the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine had better survival outcomes whilst taking immune checkpoint inhibitors. Credit: Yuganov Konstantin via Shutterstock. A retrospective analysis of patients with advanced lung cancer revealed that those vaccinated with an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine had better survival outcomes when taking immune checkpoint inhibitors, compared to unvaccinated patients. The findings were presented earlier this month at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2024 meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Out of 2,406 patients with stage III or IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 57.2% of people who were vaccinated with Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 jab within 100 days of starting treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor were still alive three years later, compared to 30.7% of patients who had not been recently vaccinated. Checkpoint inhibitors like MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Bristol Myers Squibb ’s Opdivo (nivolumab) have drastically changed the cancer treatment landscape . These drugs work by blocking proteins used by cancer cells to evade the immune system, enabling immune cells to better attack and destroy the cancer. Adam Grippin, a radiation oncologist who led the retrospective study at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explained that researchers hypothesise that the mRNA vaccines may trigger an anti-tumour response, leading to increased expression of PD-L1 – a protein that allows tumour cells to evade immune cell attack. By increasing the expression of this protein, the vaccines could enhance the effectiveness of immune checkpoint therapies, which target PD-L1. See Also: Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 drugs in development, 2024 Modalis wins FDA rare paediatric designation for CMD CRISPR therapy “We were really surprised by the magnitude of change that we were seeing in these patients, which suggests to us that these Covid-19 mRNA vaccines may be stronger immune agonists than some of the vaccines that we had evaluated preclinically,” said Grippin in an interview with Pharmaceutical Technology. Researchers have been actively exploring drugs to be used alongside immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance their effectiveness, such as targeted therapies, cancer vaccines, or agents that modify the tumour microenvironment. This is to overcome the issue of patients developing resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. The researchers at MD Anderson plan to confirm these findings through prospective studies and determine the exact mechanism behind the observed effects. Grippin explained that if these findings are validated, Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could provide a significant benefit to a large population of cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, due to the wide availability of these vaccines. “This could be a huge benefit to a large number of patients all around the world, because this is not a therapy that is confined to those within 100 miles of an academic medical centre. This is a therapy that is available for free at pharmacies around the world. It’s proven to be safe, has been administered over 3.3 billion doses, so we feel very comfortable with it.” Keytruda, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, generated $25bn last year, as per MSD’s financials. This revenue flow is expected to continue growing with GlobalData predicting that the blockbuster will pull in $33.7bn in 2028, when key Keytruda patents are set to expire. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. mRNA vaccine coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology (Or Clinical Trials Arena) is supported by Trilink . Editorial content is independently produced and follows the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Topic sponsors are not involved in the creation of editorial content. Free Whitepaper mRNA capping: low cost, high reward Are you aware of the latest mRNA capping techniques? The success of mRNA-based Covid vaccines has seen the technology boom in popularity – but capping is an essential part of the manufacturing process, and pharmaceutical firms face a range of choices on how to do it. This free whitepaper assesses differences in price, time, complexity and availability for the methods on offer – and provides essential insights on TriLink’s trailblazing CleanCap® approach. Fill in your details to find out more. Thank you. You will receive an email shortly. Please check your inbox to download the Whitepaper. By Trilink Thematic By downloading this Whitepaper, you acknowledge that GlobalData may share your information with Trilink Thematic and that your personal data will be used as described in their Privacy Policy

Research presented will include the applications of new diagnostic tools and machine learning multimodal signatures in clinical trials BOSTON and ROLLE, Switzerland, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SOPHiA GENETICS (Nasdaq: SOPH), a cloud-native healthcare technology company and a global leader in data-driven medicine, will be presenting multiple posters at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 being held in Barcelona, Spain September 13-17, 2024. The ESMO Congress is a globally influential oncology platform for clinicians, researchers, patient advocates, journalists and healthcare industry representatives from all over the world. The details of the presentations are as follows: Title: Analytical validation of an NGS panel-based ecDNA detection device for use as a clinical trial assay for the POTENTIATE clinical study of the novel CHK1 inhibitor, BBI-355 Poster Session: New Diagnostic Tools, Poster #1198 Date/Time: Sunday, September 15, 2024, 17h20 CEST Presenting Author: Julien Pontis, Technical Product Manager and Lead Data Scientist, SOPHiA GENETICS This poster presentation will focus on the analytical validation of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel-based extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) detection device. This innovative device has been developed as a clinical trial assay for Boundless Bio's ongoing, first-in-human POTENTIATE Phase 1/2 clinical study of its lead ecDNA-directed therapy (ecDTx), BBI-355. "ecDNA-enabled cancers have a unique biology, with a growing body of research showing these tumors rapidly evolve and typically fail to respond to targeted therapies, leading to worse patient prognoses, including poor time to progression and overall survival. We have developed and validated a proprietary algorithm to detect ecDNA from the outputs of NGS panels routinely used to detect alterations in patient tumors that can be used to select patients for clinical trials," said Julien Pontis, Technical Product Manager and Lead Data Scientist at SOPHiA GENETICS. Title: TRIDENT: Machine learning (ML) multimodal signatures to identify patients that would benefit most from tremelimumab (T) addition to durvalumab (D) + chemotherapy (CT) with data from the POSEIDON trial Poster Session: NSCLC, Metastatic, Poster #1325 Date/Time: Saturday, September 14, 2024, 12h00 CEST Presenting Author: Ferdinandos Skoulidis, Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center This poster will feature the TRIDENT study, which leverages machine learning to develop multimodal signatures that can identify patients who would benefit most from the addition of tremelimumab to the durvalumab and chemotherapy regimen in the context of first-line treatment of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Dr. Ferdinandos Skoulidis from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will present the findings, which are based on a retrospective multimodal analysis of the POSEIDON Phase 3 trial. Abstracts for these posters are available on the conference website. For more information on SOPHiA GENETICS, visit SOPHiAGENETICS.COM, or connect on LinkedIn. About SOPHiA GENETICS SOPHiA GENETICS (Nasdaq: SOPH) is a cloud-native healthcare technology company on a mission to expand access to data-driven medicine by using AI to deliver world-class care to patients with cancer and rare disorders across the globe. It is the creator of the SOPHiA DDM™ Platform, which analyzes complex genomic and multimodal data and generates real-time, actionable insights for a broad global network of hospital, laboratory, and biopharma institutions. For more information, visit SOPHiAGENETICS.COM and connect with us on LinkedIn. SOPHiA GENETICS products are for Research Use Only and not for use in diagnostic procedures unless specified otherwise. The information in this press release is about products that may or may not be available in different countries and, if applicable, may or may not have received approval or market clearance by a governmental regulatory body for different indications for use. Please contact [email protected] to obtain the appropriate product information for your country of residence. SOPHiA GENETICS Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, products, and technology, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including those described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update these forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based, unless required to do so by applicable law. No representations or warranties (expressed or implied) are made about the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. 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The HARMONi-2 study enrolled 398 patients in China with PD-L1-positive, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Credit: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A via Shutterstock. Summit Therapeutics ’ drug ivonescimab reduced the risk of lung cancer progression or death by nearly half compared to MSD’s blockbuster drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in Phase III data showcased on 8 September. At the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in San Diego, data revealed that Summit’s drug extended the time patients did not have tumour progression to a just over a median of 11 months, compared to nearly six months for patients treated with Keytruda. The 5.3-month difference in progression-free survival (PFS) translated into a statistically significant 49% reduction in the risk of cancer progression or death. The Phase III study, known as HARMONi-2 (NCT05499390), involved 398 patients in China with PD-L1-positive, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients were randomised to receive either ivonescimab – a bispecific antibody targeting PD-1 and VEGF – or Keytruda as the first treatment after diagnosis. Summit had previously said the HARMONi-2 trial had met its primary endpoint in May 2024 . The claim, which saw the small biotech’s stock price soar, has now been backed up with detailed data. Summit’s market cap is now $13.55bn. This landmark study is especially noteworthy because, to date, no other Phase III clinical trials in NSCLC have shown such a statistically significant improvement in PFS in a direct comparison with Keytruda. See Also: Integrated Nanotherapeutics gains funds for new T1D treatment Moderna’s Laval facility gains Health Canada’s drug establishment licence Keytruda, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, generated $25bn last year, as per MSD’s financials. This revenue flow is expected to continue growing with GlobalData predicting that the blockbuster will pull in $33.7bn in 2028, when key Keytruda patents are set to expire. Summit acquired ivonescimab in December 2022 after paying $500m to the China-based pharma company Akeso for commercial rights to ivonescimab in territories including the US and Europe. If approved, ivonescimab could generate up to $1.7bn in sales in 2030, as per GlobalData analysis. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. Despite the excitement, the study did report a higher rate of severe side effects for ivonescimab compared to Keytruda. Among patients who took Summit’s drug, 29.4% experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) that were grade 3 or above, compared with 15.6% of patients taking Keytruda. These TRAEs included abnormal amounts of protein in the urine, and other abnormalities detected in laboratory tests. Based on the results of HARMONi-2, Summit announced its plans to initiate the Phase III HARMONi-7 trial in early 2025. The study aims to compare ivonescimab monotherapy to Keytruda monotherapy in patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumours have high PD-L1 expression. In the announcement accompanying the results, Summit’s CEO Robert Duggan said: “This is a historic moment for ivonescimab, Team Summit, our partners at Akeso, and most importantly, we believe this is the beginning of a landscape shift for treatment options for patients living with cancer.”