BERKELEY, Calif., March 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADRO) today announced that the first patient has been dosed in SEASCAPE, the Phase 1/2 clinical study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of CRS-207, Aduro’s lead listeria-based immunotherapy construct (LADD), in combination with epacadostat (INCB24360), Incyte Corporation’s (Nasdaq:INCY) selective IDO1 inhibitor, in patients with ovarian cancer.
“By combining two immuno-oncology therapies which we believe have synergistic mechanisms of action, we and Incyte look forward to potentially advancing new treatment options for patients with ovarian cancer that could result in more effective therapy than either therapy alone,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. “Combination therapy is rapidly emerging as a new paradigm for immuno-oncology. With our three diverse technology platforms – LADD (listeria-based therapy), STING pathway activators and monoclonal antibodies – we intend to continue to identify new opportunities to improve patient care.”
SEASCAPE (Study of Epacadostat and CRS-207 in Adults with Platinum Resistant Ovarian Cancer), co-funded by Incyte and Aduro, is designed to establish a recommended dose based on safety and tumor biomarkers for CRS-207 and epacadostat in Phase 1 followed by expansion into Phase 2 which will evaluate the combination at the recommended (or identified) dose level compared to CRS-207 alone. Aduro plans to enroll up to 40 patients in Phase 1 and up to 86 patients in Phase 2 with platinum-resistant ovarian, fallopian or peritoneal cancers. For more information about the study, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov and search identifier NCT02575807.
Aduro and Incyte will collaborate on a non-exclusive basis. Aduro will be responsible for conducting the study and the results will be used to determine whether further clinical development of this combination is warranted. Costs for the trial will be shared on an equal basis.
About Epacadostat
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is an immunosuppressive enzyme that has been shown to induce regulatory T cell generation and activation, and allow tumors to escape immune surveillance. Epacadostat is an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of IDO1 that has nanomolar potency in both biochemical and cellular assays and has demonstrated potent activity in enhancing T lymphocyte, dendritic cell and natural killer cell responses in vitro, with a high degree of selectivity.
Epacadostat has shown proof-of-concept clinical data in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma in combination with the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab, and is currently in four proof-of-concept clinical trials with PD-1 and PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors in a variety of cancer histologies. A Phase 3 study evaluating the combination of epacadostat with pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma is expected to begin in the first half of 2016.
About CRS-207
CRS-207 is one of a family of product candidates based on Aduro’s live, attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes immunotherapy platform that induces a potent innate and T cell-mediated adaptive immune response. CRS-207 has been engineered to express the tumor-associated antigen mesothelin, which is over-expressed in many cancers including mesothelioma and pancreatic, non-small cell lung, ovarian, endometrial and gastric cancers.
About Aduro
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro’s technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body’s natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro’s LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Based on compelling clinical data in advanced cancers, this platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including pancreatic, lung and prostate cancers, mesothelioma and glioblastoma. Aduro’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, the potential for the combination of epacadostat and CRS-207, plans and timing of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of epacadostat and CRS-207 and the potential for eventual regulatory approval, commercialization and launch of our product candidates. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our history of net operating losses and uncertainty regarding our ability to achieve profitability, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our ability to use and expand our technology platforms to build a pipeline of product candidates, our dependence on our lead product candidate, CRS-207, and GVAX Pancreas, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our inability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than we do, our reliance on third parties, and our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the most recent Form 10-K which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
CONTACT: Contact: Sylvia Wheeler SVP, Corporate Affairs 510 809 9264 Media Contact: Angela Bitting 925 202 6211 press@aduro.com Mike Beyer Sam Brown, Inc. 312-961-2502
