Corvus Pharmaceuticals Announces Expansion of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cohort in Ongoing Phase 1/1b Clinical Study of Lead Checkpoint Inhibitor CPI-444
January 10, 2017 at 08:30 am
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Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the protocol-predefined criteria for expansion has been reached for the cohort of patients with renal cell carcinoma treated with single-agent CPI-444 in the Company’s ongoing Phase 1/1b study. The size of that cohort will be increased from 14 to 26 patients. The Phase 1/1b study is evaluating CPI-444, a selective and potent inhibitor of the adenosine A2A receptor, as a single agent and in combination with Genentech’s Tecentriq® (atezolizumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting protein programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). The study has been enrolling patients ahead of schedule. The first part of the trial (dose-selection) was completed in October 2016, and enrollment of patients in disease-specific cohorts in the second part of the trial is currently underway. The protocol-predefined criteria for expansion is the finding of a response (defined as a complete response, partial response or stable disease) in at least one patient in the disease-specific cohort of 14 patients with renal cell cancer. In the initial four patients treated with single agent CPI-444 (in either the dose-selection or disease-specific cohorts), one patient, refractory to prior treatment with anti-PD1, achieved a partial response, two have stable disease, and one has shown tumor progression. A fifth patient (in the dose-selection cohort), refractory to prior treatment with anti-PD1, received CPI-444 in combination with Tecentriq (atezolizumab),? and has stable disease. Four of the five patients remain on treatment, with two receiving treatment for more than 30 weeks. All patients had previously failed approved therapies. To date, CPI-444 has been well tolerated when given orally twice daily.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the development of ITK inhibition as a new approach to immunotherapy for a range of cancer and immune diseases. Its lead product candidate is soquelitinib, a selective, covalent inhibitor of ITK (interleukin 2 inducible T cell kinase) and is in a multi-center Phase 1/1b clinical trial in patients with various recurrent, malignant T cell lymphomas. Soquelitinib is designed to inhibit the proliferation of certain malignant T cells. Its second product candidate, ciforadenant, is an oral, small molecule antagonist of the A2A receptor for adenosine designed to disable a tumorâs ability to subvert attack by the immune system by blocking the binding of immunosuppressive adenosine in the tumor microenvironment to the A2A receptor. The Companyâs third product candidate is mupadolimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that is designed to react with a specific site on CD73.