SURFACE ONCOLOGY, INC. Both programs have successfully escalated to dose levels demonstrating pharmacodynamic activity without dose-limiting toxicities
Detailed clinical data for each program to be presented at a medical conference in the first half of 2021
“As we initiated the Phase 1 clinical trials just eight months ago, we are extremely pleased with the progress both of our lead product programs have made to date,” said
“We are very encouraged by these data and our clinical progress to date with SRF617 and SRF388,” said
SRF617 Highlights:
- The open label, Phase 1/1b clinical trial of SRF617 was initiated in
March 2020 and is enrolling patients with a variety of advanced solid tumors. Summary results from nine patients treated across three dose levels (20 mg, 70 mg and 200 mg intravenously every two weeks) include:- No dose limiting toxicities have been observed and SRF617 has been well-tolerated.
- Target occupancy on B cells has increased in a dose-dependent manner, and importantly, within the 200 mg cohort, the goal of meaningful, sustained target occupancy has been achieved.
Surface Oncology has already demonstrated that target occupancy is directly correlated with CD39 enzymatic inhibition. - Prolonged stable disease (>5 months) has been seen in one patient with NSCLC who had progressed on prior anti-PD-1 treatment.
- While dose escalation will continue because of the lack of dose-limiting toxicities, SRF617 has achieved a dose that supports advancement of the program into the planned combination expansion cohorts (additional details provided below). We anticipate that the combination cohorts will likely begin enrolling in late 2020.
Surface Oncology plans to present detailed initial clinical results from the ongoing Phase 1/1b trial of SRF617 at a medical conference in the first half of 2021.- In
May 2020 ,Surface Oncology announced a clinical collaboration with Merck (NYSE: MRK) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining SRF617 with Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved inthe United States . This combination will be studied as a future component of the ongoing first-in-human Phase 1/1b study of SRF617 and will be evaluated in patients with solid tumors, with a focus on patients with gastric cancer and those who have developed resistance to checkpoint inhibition — both areas of high unmet need. - In addition, as part of the clinical development plan,
Surface Oncology will initiate SRF617 combinations with gemcitabine and abraxane in patients with pancreatic cancer and SRF617 in combination with AB928, an A2A/A2B small molecule inhibitor, in clinical collaboration with Arcus Biosciences (NYSE: RCUS) in patients with prostate cancer.
SRF388 Highlights:
- The open label, Phase 1 clinical trial of the first-in-class antibody SRF388 was initiated in
April 2020 and is enrolling patients with a variety of advanced solid tumors. Summary results from nine patients treated across five dose levels (0.003, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3 and 1 mg/kg intravenously every four weeks) include:- No dose limiting toxicities have been observed and SRF388 has been well tolerated.
- While dose escalation will continue because of the lack of dose-limiting toxicities, SRF388 has already achieved maximal inhibition of the IL-27 signaling pathway at the 0.3mg/kg dose, as measured in whole blood from patients treated on the trial. Planned monotherapy Phase 2 expansion cohorts in liver cancer and kidney cancer are on track to begin enrolling patients in the first half of 2021.
- Prolonged stable disease (>6 months) has been noted in one patient with kidney cancer, who had progressed on prior anti-PD-1 treatment. Notably, kidney cancer is one of the predefined indications of interest for SRF388 based on clear demonstration of pathway activation in clinical samples. No patients with liver cancer have been enrolled in the dose escalation portion of the trial to date.
Surface Oncology plans to present detailed initial clinical results from the ongoing Phase 1 trial of SRF388 at a medical conference in the first half of 2021.- The clinical development plan for SRF388 is based on compelling translational research that indicates that IL-27 is upregulated and functional in both kidney cancer and liver cancer. This work is supported in part by a study presented at the 2020
American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting demonstrating that high levels of IL-27 correlate strongly with the risk of developing liver cancer. The presentation can be found here. - SRF388 recently received Orphan Drug designation and Fast Track designation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma from the FDA.
About SRF617:
SRF617 is a fully human antibody designed to inhibit the enzymatic activity of CD39, allowing for a dual mechanism of action to promote anti-tumor immunity via reduction of immunosuppressive adenosine in addition to increasing levels of immunostimulatory ATP. A substantial body of research supports a role for CD39 in allowing cancer to evade immune responses. For example, in gastric cancer, immune cells within the tumor often express high levels of CD39, which may impair an overall anti-cancer immune response even in the presence of an anti-PD-1 antibody. In preclinical studies, SRF617 has exhibited strong affinity for and inhibition of CD39, the ability to reduce adenosine and increase ATP levels and anti-tumor activity both as a single agent and in combination with multiple therapeutic agents.
About SRF388:
SRF388 is a fully human anti-IL-27 antibody designed to inhibit the activity of this immunosuppressive cytokine.
About
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements set forth in this press release constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “potential,” “would,” or similar expressions, and the negative of those terms. These forward-looking statements are based on Surface Oncology’s management’s current beliefs and assumptions about future events and on information currently available to management.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Surface Oncology’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to Surface Oncology’s ability to successfully develop SRF388, SRF617, SRF813 and its other product candidates through current and future milestones or regulatory filings on the anticipated timeline, if at all, the therapeutic potential of Surface Oncology’s product candidates, the risk that results from preclinical studies or early clinical trials may not be representative of larger clinical trials, the risk that Surface Oncology’s product candidates, including SRF388, SRF617 and SRF813, will not be successfully developed or commercialized, the risks related to Surface Oncology’s dependence on third-parties in connection with its manufacturing, clinical trials and preclinical studies, and the potential impact of COVID-19 on our clinical and preclinical development timelines and results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Surface Oncology’s future results are included in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending
Additional information on potential risks will be made available in other filings that
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