On the Road to Halving Cancer: The 2023 Biotech Advancements Igniting Hope

News provided by

Sep 20, 2023, 11:45 ET

FN Media Group Presents USA News Group News Commentary

VANCOUVER, British Columbia , Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group - Earlier this year, the US White House requested over $2.8 billion in funding from Congress for their "Cancer Moonshot" initiative, an ambitious plan to slash cancer rates in half within the next quarter-century. Already, 2023 is brimming with encouraging progress in the biotech sector that is boosting our hope in the battle against cancer. Simplifying the jargon, this includes major breakthroughs in treatments that are prolonging the time before cancer worsens (known as progression-free survival or PFS) and increasing the rate at which patients respond positively to treatment (overall response rate or ORR). This inspiring progress has been led by companies like from Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), Eli Lilly and Company, ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), and AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN).

Accompanying its oral presentation at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC) has unveiled impressive results from its Phase 2 trial of a drug for metastatic breast cancer, offering a promising avenue for those with the disease and catching the eye of RBC Capital.

The trial, known as BRACELET-1, tested a therapy that combines the company's drug, pelareorep, with a common cancer treatment, paclitaxel. The results showed that this combo treatment could substantially slow the progression of the disease. In fact, the risk of the disease getting worse was reduced by an impressive 71% compared to paclitaxel alone, through its progression-free survival (PFS).

For patients, this could mean more time to enjoy life without the burden of worsening symptoms. To put it into numbers, patients on the combo therapy had a median of 9.5 months before their disease progressed, compared to just 6.3 months for those on paclitaxel alone.

The combo therapy also increased the overall response rate (ORR), which is the percentage of patients whose cancer shrinks or disappears after treatment. An impressive 37.5% of patients responded to the combo therapy, while only 13.3% did to paclitaxel alone. This means that the combo therapy is more likely to work for a larger number of patients.

"BRACELET-1's positive results complement prior phase 2 data showing a statistically significant increase in overall survival when pelareorep was combined with paclitaxel by demonstrating similar stark improvements in PFS and ORR in less heavily pre-treated patients," said Dr. Matt Coffey, President and CEO of Oncolytics Biotech. "Given this exciting finding, our next step is to discuss our data with the FDA to enable our breast cancer program's expeditious advancement to a registrational study with dual PFS and OS endpoints. Including a PFS endpoint will substantially reduce the time to a pivotal readout from the registrational trial, thereby accelerating pelareorep's path to potential approval as we work to address the urgent needs of HR+/HER2- breast cancer patients."

Following these encouraging results, Oncolytics Biotech is now ready to take the next steps. The company is planning to discuss its data with the FDA and work towards advancing its breast cancer program to a registrational study. This study will play a crucial role in securing the approval of pelareorep as a breast cancer treatment. Already in late 2022, Oncolytics Biotech received Fast Track Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pelareorep in the treatment of advanced/metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Eli Lilly and Company also shared new data on two of its key cancer treatments, Verzenio® (abemaciclib) and Jaypirca™ (pirtobrutinib), at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting.

The results from the Phase 3 monarchE trial of Verzenio demonstrated similar efficacy across age groups and even in patients requiring dose adjustments. Used for treating high-risk, early-stage breast cancer, Verzenio also showed similar quality of life metrics to endocrine therapy alone. These findings strengthen the case for Verzenio as a standard of care for early breast cancer patients.

Additionally, updated data from the Phase 1/2 BRUIN trial for Jaypirca confirmed its efficacy in patients pre-treated with covalent BTK inhibitors who have relapsed or refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). The continued demonstration of durable efficacy, along with no newly identified safety signals, builds confidence in the treatment potential of Jaypirca.

"These additional data on Verzenio and Jaypirca build on the evidence supporting the role each of these medicines play in improving the treatment paradigms for patients with node-positive, high risk early breast cancer and covalent BTK inhibitor pre-treated relapsed or refractory MCL, respectively," said David Hyman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Loxo@Lilly.

Another company working on advanced cancer drugs, ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), recently shared some of their own good news involving their drug ELAHERE® which they tested in a big study known as the MIRASOL trial. This trial involved patients with a specific type of tough-to-treat ovarian cancer, and so far ELAHERE® has demonstrated statistically significant improvements in PFS, ORR, and overall survival (OS), including a 33% reduction in the risk of death in the ELAHERE® group versus the investigator's choice of a single-agent chemotherapy.

"I believe the data from the confirmatory MIRASOL trial are practice-changing," said MIRASOL Principal Investigator Kathleen Moore. "I am confident that, with the MIRASOL data, ELAHERE has the potential to become the new standard of care for patients with FRα-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer."

Patients using ELAHERE® had more time without their cancer getting worse, and a larger percentage of them saw their cancer shrink or disappear. Plus, ELAHERE® also increased the overall lifespan of these patients, a first for this type of ovarian cancer.

Because of these great results, ImmunoGen plans to take ELAHERE® to the next level. They're getting ready to ask for official approval to market the drug in Europe and the US. This means ELAHERE® could soon be an option for ovarian cancer patients who don't respond to other treatments.

Two big names in the drug-making industry, AstraZeneca PLC (NASDQ: AZN) and Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), just got a thumbs-up from the FDA for their drug LYNPARZA. This drug, when used with two others called abiraterone and either prednisone or prednisolone, is now approved for treating a stubborn type of prostate cancer that doesn't respond to other therapies.

In a large study called the PROpel trial, the combo of LYNPARZA and the other two drugs helped stop the cancer from getting worse. It was found to work best in patients with a specific genetic mutation (BRCA mutation).

Prostate cancer is quite common in the US and can get worse quickly. Roughly 10% of stubborn cases have the BRCA mutation, which usually predicts poor outcomes. That's why this approval is a big deal—it's an effective new treatment for these patients.

"There is a critical unmet need for new first-line treatment options for patients with BRCAm mCRPC, and this approval underscores the importance of BRCA testing at metastatic diagnosis," said Dave Fredrickson, Executive VP, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca. "We look forward to bringing the benefit of this LYNPARZA combination to patients earlier in their treatment."

Article Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2023/05/31/could-this-company-be-on-track-to-cure-pancreatic-and-breast-cancer-2/

Article Source:
USA News Group
http://USAnewsgroup.com
[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). MIQ has been paid a fee for Oncolytics Biotech Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. which were purchased in the open market, and reserve the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ has been approved by Oncolytics Biotech Inc.; this is a paid advertisement, we currently own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. and will buy and sell shares of the company in the open market, or through private placements, and/or other investment vehicles.

While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.

USA News Group is Source of all content listed above. FN Media Group, LLC (FNM), is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with USA News Group or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by USA News Group are solely those of USA News Group and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release.

This release contains "forward-loking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Media Contact Information:
FN Media Group, LLC
Media Contact e-mail:
[email protected]
U.S. Phone: +1(954)345-0611

SOURCE USA News Group