Cantargia aism for first results of key study in Q4 – Sweden’s Cantargia (CANT) expects to report the first efficacy data from lead product nidanilimab in the fourth quarter of this year, some months earlier than expected, after quickly reaching its target recruitment of 20 patients – six with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 14 with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) – in the monotherapy dose-expansion arm of its “CANFOUR” Phase IIa study. CANFOUR is examining monotherapy with nidanlimimab as monotherapy as well as combination with two different standard chemotherapy regimes in patients with NSCLC or PDAC (www.clinicaltrials.gov). The study is also enrolling 30 patients in each of the combination arms and full data are expected in early 2020.
Data from the escalation phase of the study were presented at the recent ASCO scientific meeting. This stage enrolled 22 patients (4 NSCLC, 6 PDAC and 12 colorectal cancer) who were no longer responding to standard therapy. Serum levels of the disease-associated biomarkers CRP and IL-6 were reduced after two weeks of treatment in 13/17 evaluable patients and 17/21 patients, respectively. Nine patients had stable disease at eight weeks follow up, with two, one with each indication, had stable disease for a longer period of time.
Nidanilimab is an antibody against interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP), which is over-expressed in the tumour microenvoronment of approximately 80% of patients with NSCLC and 70% of patients with PDAC. Cantargia’s approach is to some extent validated by a clinical trial programme underway by Novartis with its Interleukin-1β antibody canakinumab, which has a different target but a parallel mechanism. Novartis is conducting three large Phase III studies with canakinumab in NSCLC, after observing lower rates of cancer in a large six-year Phase III study of the drug in atherosclerosis, called CANTOS.