Crizanlizumab for the Prevention of Pain Crises in Sickle Cell Disease

The up-regulation of P-selectin in endothelial cells and platelets contributes to the cell–cell interactions that are involved in the pathogenesis of vaso-occlusion and sickle cell–related pain crises. The safety and efficacy of crizanlizumab, an antibody against the adhesion molecule P-selectin, were evaluated in patients with sickle cell disease

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Quantifying the reduction in immunoglobulin use over time in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura receiving romiplostim (AMG 531)

Patients with Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) often require immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy with intravenous 19 (IVIG) or anti-D to prevent or treat the serious bleeding events. Because the thrombopoietin (TPO) mimetic romiplostim (AMG 531; Nplate) elevates platelet counts in patients with chronic ITP, we quantified to what extent it reduced the incidence of Ig rescue therapy in two randomized (vs. placebo) trials of romiplostim for chronic ITP. Our analysis shows that significantly fewer romiplostim patients than placebo patients required Ig therapy over the course of 24 weeks (1-6% vs. 19-37%, respectively; P <0.05 for each 4-week interval), and romiplostim-treated patients were 5.31-fold less likely to receive Ig therapy (P <0.001)

Crizanlizumab for the prevention of pain crises in sickle cell disease

BACKGROUND The up-regulation of P-selectin in endothelial cells and platelets contributes to the cell-cell interactions that are involved in the pathogenesis of vaso-occlusion and sickle cell-related pain crises. The safety and efficacy of crizanlizumab, an antibody against the adhesion molecule P-selectin, were evaluated in patients with sickle cell disease. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, we assigned patients to receive low-dose crizanlizumab (2.5 mg per kilogram of body weight), high-dose crizanlizumab (5.0 mg per kilogram), or placebo, administered intravenously 14 times over a period of 52 weeks. Patients who were receiving concomitant hydroxyurea as well as those not receiving hydroxyurea were included in the study. The primary end point was the annual rate of sickle cell-related pain crises with high-dose crizanlizumab versus placebo. The annual rate of days hospitalized, the times to first and second crises, annual rates of uncomplicated crises (defined as crises other than the acute chest syndrome, hepatic sequestration, splenic sequestration, or priapism) and the acute chest syndrome, and patientreported outcomes were also assessed. RESULTS A total of 198 patients underwent randomization at 60 sites. The median rate of crises per year was 1.63 with high-dose crizanlizumab versus 2.98 with placebo (indicating a 45.3% lower rate with high-dose crizanlizumab, P = 0.01). The median time to the first crisis was significantly longer with high-dose crizanlizumab than with placebo (4.07 vs. 1.38 months, P = 0.001), as was the median time to the second crisis (10.32 vs. 5.09 months, P = 0.02). The median rate of uncomplicated crises per year was 1.08 with high-dose crizanlizumab, as compared with 2.91 with placebo (indicating a 62.9% lower rate with high-dose crizanlizumab, P = 0.02). Adverse events that occurred in 10% or more of the patients in either activetreatment group and at a frequency that was at least twice as high as that in the placebo group were arthralgia, diarrhea, pruritus, vomiting, and chest pain. CONCLUSIONS In patients with sickle cell disease, crizanlizumab therapy resulted in a significantly lower rate of sickle cell-related pain crises than placebo and was associated with a low incidence of adverse events

SUSTAIN: A Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, 12-Month Study to Assess Safety and Efficacy of SelG1 with or without Hydroxyurea Therapy in Sickle Cell Disease Patients with Sickle Cell-Related Pain Crises

Abstract Introduction: Acute painful episodes, frequently called sickle cell-related pain crises (SCPC), are a substantial cause of morbidity in sickle cell disease (SCD). Although hydroxyurea (HU) is known to decrease the frequency of SCPC in sickle cell anemia, many patients continue to experience acute painful episodes despite such therapy. P-selectin is an adhesion molecule expressed on activated vascular endothelial cells and platelets. It is a key molecule in the initiation of leukocyte rolling on the vessel wall that leads to firm attachment and extravasation to underlying tissues during inflammation. Upregulation of P-selectin on endothelial cells and platelets also contributes to the cell-cell interactions involved in the pathogenesis of SCPC. The SUSTAIN study evaluated the safety of SelG1, a first-in-class humanized anti-P-selectin antibody, and its effect on the frequency of SCPC in SCD patients. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational study. Patients were randomized to receive placebo, 2.5 mg/kg or 5.0 mg/kg SelG1; patients received their initial dose, a dose 14 days later, and then every 4 weeks through week 50 for a total of 14 doses. The primary efficacy endpoint was the annual rate of SCPC in the 5.0 mg/kg SelG1 group vs. placebo. A hierarchical testing procedure was employed (α = 0.05 for high dose vs. placebo, and if significant, low dose vs. placebo). An SCPC was defined as acute sickle cell-related pain that resulted in a visit to a medical facility and required a parenteral or oral narcotic or parenteral NSAID. Acute chest syndrome (ACS), priapism, hepatic and splenic sequestration were also included in this definition. A blinded, independent committee adjudicated all SCPC events. Key inclusion criteria included patients 16 to 65 years of age; diagnosis of SCD (HbSS, HbSC, HbSβ0 thalassemia or HbSβ+ thalassemia); and history of 2 to 10 SCPC in the previous 12 months. Patients receiving HU or erythropoietin were included if prescribed for the preceding 6 months and dose was stable for at least 3 months. The randomization was stratified by historical SCPC in the prior year (2-4 or 5-10) and concomitant HU use (yes or no). Secondary endpoints included annual rate of days hospitalized, times to first and second SCPC and annual rate of uncomplicated SCPC (defined as typical SCPC other than ACS, priapism and hepatic or splenic sequestration) and ACS. Results: 198 SCD patients were randomized for the 1-year study. The Intent-To-Treat (ITT) population included all randomized patients; 67, 66 and 65 patients in the 5.0 mg/kg, 2.5 mg/kg and placebo groups, respectively. Demographic parameters were evenly distributed in the treatment groups. The primary endpoint, the annual rate of SCPC in the ITT population at 5.0 mg/kg vs. placebo, was reduced 47% (medians of 1.6 vs. 3.0, p = 0.010, Table 1). The SelG1 drug effect was dose-dependent as the annual rate of SCPC at 2.5 mg/kg vs. placebo was reduced 33% (medians of 2.0 vs. 3.0, p = 0.180). Time to first SCPC at 5.0 mg/kg vs. placebo was increased 2.9-fold (medians of 4.1 vs. 1.4 months, p = 0.001, Fig. 1) and time to second SCPC was increased 2.0-fold (medians of 10.3 vs. 5.1 months, p = 0.022, Fig. 2). The annual rate of uncomplicated SCPC at 5.0 mg/kg vs. placebo was reduced by 62% (medians of 1.1 vs. 2.9, p = 0.015). ACS events were rare in this study. The annual rate of days hospitalized at 5.0 mg/kg vs. placebo showed a non-significant, 42% reduction (medians of 4.0 vs. 6.9, p = 0.450). Adverse events that occurred in 5% or more of patients in an active dose group and were elevated over placebo by at least 2-fold were arthralgia, pruritus, vomiting, chest pain, diarrhea, road traffic accident, fatigue, myalgia, musculoskeletal chest pain, abdominal pain, influenza and oropharyngeal pain. There were no apparent increases in infections with SelG1 treatment. Five deaths occurred during the study, 2 at 5.0 mg/kg, 1 at 2.5 mg/kg and 2 in placebo; no deaths were deemed related to study drug. Conclusions: The P-selectin inhibitor SelG1 significantly reduced SCPC and appeared to be safe and well tolerated. Significant improvements were also achieved for several secondary endpoints including increases in times to first and second SCPC. Chronic inhibition of P-selectin with once a month IV dosing of SelG1 represents a novel and potentially new disease-modifying, prophylactic treatment option for patients with SCD. clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01895361 Disclosures Kutlar: Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Kanter:Novartis: Consultancy. Rollins:Selexys Pharmaceuticals: Equity Ownership, Other: Previous Employment. Stocker:Selexys Pharmaceuticals: Equity Ownership, Other: Previous Employment. Rother:Selexys Pharmaceuticals: Equity Ownership, Other: Previous Employment

Open-label, phase II study of ladiratuzumab vedotin (LV) for castration-resistant prostate cancer (SGNLVA-005, trial-in-progress).

Background: LIV-1 is a transmembrane protein expressed in a variety of cancer types. SGN-LIV1A, or ladiratuzumab vedotin (LV), is a novel investigational humanized IgG1 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed against LIV-1. LV mediates delivery of monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), which drives antitumor activity through cytotoxic cell killing and induces immunogenic cell death. In a phase 1 study, LV was tolerable and active in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer (Modi 2017). This study is currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of LV in different advanced solid tumors with various LIV-1 expression, including metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), non-small cell lung cancer (squamous and nonsquamous), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Methods: SGNLVA-005 (NCT04032704) is an open-label, phase 2 study evaluating LV monotherapy in patients with previously treated, locally advanced unresectable or metastatic advanced solid tumors, including mCRPC. Patients with mCRPC will receive LV administered as a 30 minute intravenous infusion (IV) at 1.25 mg/kg every 1 week. Up to 30 patients with mCRPC will be enrolled. Patients in the mCRPC cohort must have metastatic castration-resistant disease, have received no more than 1 prior line of androgen receptor-targeted therapy, have ≥28 days between androgen receptor-targeted therapy and start of study treatment, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0 or 1, and adequate organ function. In addition, mCRPC patients with measurable and non-measurable disease are eligible if the protocol-defined criteria are met. mCRPC patients must not have BRCA gene mutations, prior cytotoxic chemotherapy in the metastatic mCRPC setting, prior radioisotope therapy, or radiotherapy to ≥30% of bone marrow. Patients are not preselected based on tumor LIV-1 expression. Their tumor samples will be analyzed for correlation between LIV-1 expression and response. Safety and efficacy will be monitored throughout the study. Study objectives include objective tumor response rate per RECIST 1.1 and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate per Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Working Group 3 (both primary); safety and tolerability, disease control rate, duration of response, progression-free and overall survival, and pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity (all secondary); and pharmacodynamics. Study accrual is ongoing in the USA, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and the UK. Clinical trial information: NCT04032704