MIRAMAR, FL, USA I November 4, 2014 I Altor BioScience Corporation (Altor), a leading developer of interleukin-15 (IL-15)-based immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it has enrolled patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) in a clinical trial using its flagship IL-15-based immunostimulatory complex ALT-803. This study is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant recently awarded to Altor by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The MM trial represents the fourth clinical trial in the United States (U.S.) launched by Altor for the ALT-803 superagonist complex in the fight against cancer. As the second most common blood cancer, MM is a cancer of the plasma cells involved in producing antibodies, causing cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow and crowding out normal blood cells from fighting off infection.
ALT-803 is considered one of the most promising novel immunotherapeutic agents by NCI for cancer treatment. In preclinical studies, ALT-803 potently activates immune cells to defend against disease, simultaneously mobilizing both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system to elicit rapid and long-lasting anti-tumor responses. Encouraging preclinical studies of ALT-803 in MM led to the development of the ALT-803 clinical study in patients with relapsed or refractory MM.
The $1.5 million SBIR grant was awarded on June 17, 2014, and will support the multi-center Phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of ALT-803 in patients with relapsed or refractory MM. Patient enrollment for this trial has been initiated at two prominent NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Todd Fehniger, M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigator at Washington University, commented, “We are excited to test this new approach to immunotherapy with the IL-15 superagonist ALT-803, which will be available for our patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma at Washington University’s Siteman Cancer Center in this Phase I/II study. The ALT-803 treatment optimizes two key players in the immune response to cancer, T cells and natural killer cells, and has great promise to boost anti-tumor immunity in a variety of cancers, especially in combination with other immunotherapy agents.”
Dr. Sarah Holstein, M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigator at Roswell Park Cancer Institute stated, “I am very excited to be taking part in this Phase I/II trial for ALT-803 in patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma. ALT-803 harnesses the power of the immune system to fight myeloma in a unique way and has the potential to confer long-lasting disease control.”
Hing C. Wong, Ph.D., Altor’s founder and CEO, commented, “Altor is honored to receive continued support from NCI, furthering the development of ALT-803 as a cancer treatment from R&D preclinical studies into clinical trials. The funding for the MM trial is the second SBIR Phase II grant awarded to Altor this year for the clinical development of this promising immunotherapeutic. Our objective is to develop ALT-803 as a durable or potentially curative treatment for MM, a disease that remains incurable even with the advent of newly emerging myeloma therapies.”
According to NCI, there will be an estimated 24,050 new cases of MM and 11,090 deaths due to MM in the U.S. in 2014. MM is a disease of the elderly with a median age at diagnosis of 69 years. The number of MM patients is expected to increase over time due to the increasing life expectancy of the normal population. Unfortunately, even with the development of novel therapies recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), MM remains an incurable disease and many patients with the disease will eventually relapse. Therefore, Altor’s strategy for ALT-803 is to fulfill the needs of this segment of the market and complement or improve the efficacy of currently available therapies.
About Altor’s IL-15 Technology
The cytokine IL-15 plays a major role in the development of cellular immune responses, driving T and natural killer cell proliferation and activation. Altor has developed ALT-803, a novel IL-15 superagonist complex, with improved pharmacokinetic properties, and enhanced anti-tumor activity compared to recombinant human IL-15. Altor is collaborating with more than twenty leading research institutes and universities in the U.S. to explore potential clinical utilities of ALT-803 against cancer and viral infections. In various cancer models, ALT-803 exhibits potent activity when administered as a monotherapy and also as a combination therapy with other drug agents. Four clinical trials are currently being conducted in patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
About Altor BioScience
Altor is a privately held biotechnology company developing immunotherapies for treating cancer, viral infections, and inflammatory diseases based on its proprietary IL-15, T cell receptor and Tissue Factor antagonist platform technologies. Altor currently has four Phase I and two Phase II trials underway for its immunotherapeutics against cancer.
SOURCE: Altor BioScience
Post Views: 51
MIRAMAR, FL, USA I November 4, 2014 I Altor BioScience Corporation (Altor), a leading developer of interleukin-15 (IL-15)-based immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it has enrolled patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) in a clinical trial using its flagship IL-15-based immunostimulatory complex ALT-803. This study is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant recently awarded to Altor by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The MM trial represents the fourth clinical trial in the United States (U.S.) launched by Altor for the ALT-803 superagonist complex in the fight against cancer. As the second most common blood cancer, MM is a cancer of the plasma cells involved in producing antibodies, causing cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow and crowding out normal blood cells from fighting off infection.
ALT-803 is considered one of the most promising novel immunotherapeutic agents by NCI for cancer treatment. In preclinical studies, ALT-803 potently activates immune cells to defend against disease, simultaneously mobilizing both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system to elicit rapid and long-lasting anti-tumor responses. Encouraging preclinical studies of ALT-803 in MM led to the development of the ALT-803 clinical study in patients with relapsed or refractory MM.
The $1.5 million SBIR grant was awarded on June 17, 2014, and will support the multi-center Phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of ALT-803 in patients with relapsed or refractory MM. Patient enrollment for this trial has been initiated at two prominent NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Todd Fehniger, M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigator at Washington University, commented, “We are excited to test this new approach to immunotherapy with the IL-15 superagonist ALT-803, which will be available for our patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma at Washington University’s Siteman Cancer Center in this Phase I/II study. The ALT-803 treatment optimizes two key players in the immune response to cancer, T cells and natural killer cells, and has great promise to boost anti-tumor immunity in a variety of cancers, especially in combination with other immunotherapy agents.”
Dr. Sarah Holstein, M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigator at Roswell Park Cancer Institute stated, “I am very excited to be taking part in this Phase I/II trial for ALT-803 in patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma. ALT-803 harnesses the power of the immune system to fight myeloma in a unique way and has the potential to confer long-lasting disease control.”
Hing C. Wong, Ph.D., Altor’s founder and CEO, commented, “Altor is honored to receive continued support from NCI, furthering the development of ALT-803 as a cancer treatment from R&D preclinical studies into clinical trials. The funding for the MM trial is the second SBIR Phase II grant awarded to Altor this year for the clinical development of this promising immunotherapeutic. Our objective is to develop ALT-803 as a durable or potentially curative treatment for MM, a disease that remains incurable even with the advent of newly emerging myeloma therapies.”
According to NCI, there will be an estimated 24,050 new cases of MM and 11,090 deaths due to MM in the U.S. in 2014. MM is a disease of the elderly with a median age at diagnosis of 69 years. The number of MM patients is expected to increase over time due to the increasing life expectancy of the normal population. Unfortunately, even with the development of novel therapies recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), MM remains an incurable disease and many patients with the disease will eventually relapse. Therefore, Altor’s strategy for ALT-803 is to fulfill the needs of this segment of the market and complement or improve the efficacy of currently available therapies.
About Altor’s IL-15 Technology
The cytokine IL-15 plays a major role in the development of cellular immune responses, driving T and natural killer cell proliferation and activation. Altor has developed ALT-803, a novel IL-15 superagonist complex, with improved pharmacokinetic properties, and enhanced anti-tumor activity compared to recombinant human IL-15. Altor is collaborating with more than twenty leading research institutes and universities in the U.S. to explore potential clinical utilities of ALT-803 against cancer and viral infections. In various cancer models, ALT-803 exhibits potent activity when administered as a monotherapy and also as a combination therapy with other drug agents. Four clinical trials are currently being conducted in patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
About Altor BioScience
Altor is a privately held biotechnology company developing immunotherapies for treating cancer, viral infections, and inflammatory diseases based on its proprietary IL-15, T cell receptor and Tissue Factor antagonist platform technologies. Altor currently has four Phase I and two Phase II trials underway for its immunotherapeutics against cancer.
SOURCE: Altor BioScience
Post Views: 51
