Petosemtamab granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the U.S. FDA for 1L PD-L1 positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
This second BTD designation follows the initial receipt of BTD and Fast Track designation for petosemtamab for the treatment of patients with r/m HNSCC whose disease has progressed following treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and an anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody announced in
BTD is supported by updated data from the ongoing phase 1/2 open-label, multicenter trial evaluating petosemtamab in combination with pembrolizumab in 1L HNSCC expressing PD-L1 (CPS≥1) (NCT03526835). Data for this cohort was initially presented at the
“We believe petosemtamab’s second BTD continues to validate its potential to become a new standard of care for patients with r/m HNSCC and underscores our commitment to accelerate development of petosemtamab for these patients,” said
BTD is intended to expedite the development and review of a medicine to treat a serious or life-threatening condition, where preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement on clinically significant endpoints over available therapies. BTD allows for more intensive FDA guidance on an efficient drug development program, an organizational commitment involving senior managers, and experienced review staff, as appropriate, in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary review, and eligibility for rolling review and priority review. With this BTD, Merus plans to engage in these discussions with the FDA in an expedited manner as we move toward our goal of a potential Biologics License Application (BLA) submission.
About LiGeR-HN1
LiGeR-HN1, a phase 3 trial, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of petosemtamab in combination with pembrolizumab, compared to pembrolizumab in 1L PD-L1+ r/m HNSCC patients. The trial is open to adult patients eligible to receive pembrolizumab as 1L monotherapy with tumors expressing PD-L1, CPS ≥1. The primary endpoints are overall response rate as assessed by BICR based on RECIST v1.1 and overall survival. Secondary endpoints are duration of response and progression free survival. Merus plans to enroll approximately 500 patients in the trial.
About LiGeR-HN2
LiGeR-HN2, a phase 3 trial, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of petosemtamab compared to investigator’s choice of methotrexate, docetaxel, or cetuximab in 2/3L r/m HNSCC patients. The trial is open to adult patients that have progressed on or after anti-PD-1 therapy and platinum-containing therapy. The primary endpoints are overall response rate as assessed by BICR based on RECIST v1.1 and overall survival. Secondary endpoints are duration of response and progression free survival. Merus plans to enroll approximately 500 patients in the trial.
About Head and Neck Cancer
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) describes a group of cancers that develop in the squamous cells that line the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, throat, and larynx. These cancers begin when healthy cells change and grow in an unchecked manner, ultimately forming tumors. HNSCC is generally associated with tobacco consumption, alcohol use and/or HPV infections, depending on where they develop geographically. HNSCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and it is estimated that there were more than 930,000 new cases and over 465,000 deaths from HNSCC globally in 2020.1 The incidence of HNSCC continues to rise and is anticipated to increase by 30% to more than 1 million new cases annually by 2030.2 HNSCC is a serious and life-threatening disease with poor prognosis despite currently available standard of care therapies.
1 Sung et al. CA Cancer J Clin, 71:209-49, 2021; 2 Johnson, D.E., Burtness, B., Leemans, C.R. et al. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nat Rev Dis Primers 6(1):92, 2020
About Petosemtamab
Petosemtamab, or MCLA-158, is a Biclonics® low-fucose human full-length IgG1 antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the leucine-rich repeat containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5). Petosemtamab is designed to exhibit three independent mechanisms of action including inhibition of EGFR-dependent signaling, LGR5 binding leading to EGFR internalization and degradation in cancer cells, and enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) activity.
About
Merus is a clinical-stage oncology company developing innovative full-length human bispecific and trispecific antibody therapeutics, referred to as Multiclonics®. Multiclonics® are manufactured using industry standard processes and have been observed in preclinical and clinical studies to have several of the same features of conventional human monoclonal antibodies, such as long half-life and low immunogenicity. For additional information, please visit Merus’ website, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation, the potential benefits of BTD for petosemtamab’s development for the first-line treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) with CPS ≥ 1 ; Merus’ belief that petosemtamab’s second BTD continues to validate its potential to become a new standard of care for patients with r/m HNSCC; Merus’ commitment to accelerate development of petosemtamab for these patients; Merus’ belief that this designation indicates the interim clinical data shared with the FDA demonstrates petosemtamab’s potential for substantial improvement over available therapies in the 1L PD-L1+ setting; the potential for BTD to expedite the development and review of a medicine to treat a serious or life-threatening condition, where preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement on clinically significant endpoints over available therapies; the potential of BTD to allow for more intensive FDA guidance on an efficient drug development program, an organizational commitment involving senior managers, and experienced review staff, as appropriate, in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary review, and eligibility for rolling review and priority review; and Merus’ plans to engage in these discussions with the FDA in an expedited manner as we move toward our goal of a potential Biologics License Application (BLA) submission. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our need for additional funding, which may not be available and which may require us to restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or antibody candidates; potential delays in regulatory approval, which would impact our ability to commercialize our product candidates and affect our ability to generate revenue; the lengthy and expensive process of clinical drug development, which has an uncertain outcome; the unpredictable nature of our early stage development efforts for marketable drugs; potential delays in enrollment of patients, which could affect the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals; our reliance on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and the potential for those third parties to not perform satisfactorily; impacts of the volatility in the global economy, including global instability, including the ongoing conflicts in
Investor and Media Inquiries:Sherri Spear Merus N.V. SVP Investor Relations andStrategic Communications 617-821-3246 s.spear@merus.nlKathleen Farren Merus N.V. Assoc. Director IR/Corp Comms 617-230-4165 k.farren@merus.nl
Source: Merus N.V.