CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIND Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIND), a clinical-stage nanomedicine company developing targeted and programmable therapeutics called Accurins™, today announced that AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) has initiated patient dosing in a phase 1 clinical trial of the Accurin AZD2811 drug candidate in solid tumors. AZD2811, a novel, selective inhibitor of Aurora B kinase that has been shown to be active in both solid and hematological tumors in preclinical models, is the second Accurin candidate to enter clinical development. The phase 1 trial is enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors, including patients with small cell lung cancer, and is being conducted by AstraZeneca under the companies’ 2013 collaboration agreement with BIND managing all chemistry, manufacturing and control activities. BIND earned a $4.0 million clinical milestone for dosing of the first patient.
“The preclinical data seen to date suggest Accurin AZD2811 can overcome the limitations that have hindered development of this class of potent kinase inhibitors,” said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer of BIND Therapeutics. “There has been a great deal of promise in the biology of inhibiting the Aurora B pathway but success to date has been limited due to on-target but off-tissue toxicities. Based on preclinical data we’ve seen to date, we believe our Accurin technology has the potential to overcome these limitations and make AZD2811 a best-in-class therapeutic with a profile unachievable through other therapeutic modalities. This milestone further demonstrates the value of our leading nanomedicine platform and we look forward to exploring the potential benefits this product may bring to patients with cancer.”
“We had already achieved clinical proof of principle with the Aurora Kinase B inhibitor in a phase 2 trial in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia,” said Susan Galbraith, head of AstraZeneca’s Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit. “Through our collaboration we can now deliver this drug in a BIND Accurin nanoparticle. BIND’s Accurin technology has the potential to significantly improve the therapeutic activity of our Aurora B Kinase inhibitor and we look forward to sharing data from this trial as we advance AZD2811 through clinical development.”
The phase 1 clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of AZD2811 at increasing doses. The first part of the two-part study will evaluate the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the recommended phase 2 dose will be identified. The study will also characterize the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of AZD2811 and will explore the potential biological activity by assessing anti-tumor activity. The second part of the study will begin upon determination of the MTD and will further explore PK parameters, safety, tolerability and preliminary anti-tumor activity of AZD2811. Additional information on this study can be found at: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Preclinical data on the Accurin AZD2811 were presented at the 2015 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in April 2015, including data that demonstrated promising in vivo and in vitro tumor growth inhibition as monotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) models. Additional data showed that Accurin AZD2811 delivers prolonged exposure of active drug with the flexibility to be delivered with different doses/schedules, offering the potential to adapt the therapeutic regimen to different tumors while achieving an improved therapeutic index. Previously, preclinical tumor model data were presented showing that Accurin AZD2811 minimizes the bone marrow toxicity seen with the parent compound, which has limited the clinical utility of Aurora B kinase inhibitors as a class.
Under terms of the collaboration, AstraZeneca is responsible for clinical development and commercialization and BIND is responsible for conducting clinical manufacturing. In addition to earning a $4.0 million milestone payment for the first patient dosed in a phase 1 clinical trial, BIND received an upfront payment of $4.0 million in 2013 and achieved a $1.0 million development milestone in March 2015. BIND has the potential to receive additional milestone payments totaling up to $60 million upon achievement by AstraZeneca of specified clinical events and up to $128 million in the aggregate upon achievement by AstraZeneca of all specified regulatory and commercial events, as well as tiered royalties in the low-single digit to the low-double digit percentages of aggregate worldwide net sales of licensed product, if any.
Based on the $4.0 million AstraZeneca clinical milestone payment, the previously announced $2.5 million Pfizer option exercise fee and anticipated R&D reimbursement for the next stage of the Pfizer collaboration, BIND reiterates that it expects that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will fund operating expense and capital expenditure requirements into the fourth quarter of 2016. This expectation is based on BIND’s current operating plans and research and development funding that it expects to receive under its existing collaborations, but excludes any potential milestone payments under its collaboration agreements.
About BIND Therapeutics
BIND Therapeutics is a clinical-stage nanomedicine company developing a pipeline of Accurins™, its novel targeted therapeutics designed to increase the concentration and duration of therapeutic payloads at disease sites while reducing exposure to healthy tissue. BIND is leveraging its Medicinal Nanoengineering® platform to develop a pipeline of Accurins targeting hematological and solid tumors and has a number of strategic collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies to develop Accurins in areas of high unmet need. BIND's lead drug candidate, BIND-014, is a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) -targeted Accurin that contains docetaxel, a clinically-validated and widely-used cancer chemotherapy drug. BIND-014 is currently enrolling patients in a trial with BIND-014 for non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, with KRAS mutations or squamous histology. In addition, BIND is enrolling patients in a clinical trial with BIND-014 for cervical, bladder, head and neck and cholangio cancers. BIND is advancing BIND-510, its second PSMA-targeted Accurin drug candidate containing vincristine, a potent microtubule inhibitor with dose limiting peripheral neuropathy in its conventional form, through important preclinical studies to position it for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. BIND is also developing Accurins designed to inhibit PLK1 and KSP, both of which BIND believes are promising anti-mitotic targets that have been limited in the clinic due to myelotoxicity at or below therapeutic doses.
BIND has announced ongoing collaborations with Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca AB, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Merck & Co., or Merck (known as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the United States and Canada) and Macrophage Therapeutics (a subsidiary of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals) to develop Accurins based on their proprietary therapeutic payloads and/or targeting ligands. BIND’s collaboration with AstraZeneca has resulted in the Aurora B Kinase inhibitor Accurin AZD2811, which became the second Accurin candidate to enter clinical development. BIND’s collaboration with Pfizer has resulted in the selection of an Accurin candidate that is entering IND-enabling studies.
For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.bindtherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Accurin AZD2811, including without limitation its ability to overcome limitations that have hindered development of certain kinase inhibitors and its therapeutic potential; the milestone demonstrating the value of the nanomedicine platform; potential milestone payments and royalties under the collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca; the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments; Accurins, and developing a pipeline of Accurins; BIND-510, including without limitation, statements regarding our plan for an Investigational New Drug filing; and our collaboration agreements with Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and Macrophage.
These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the fact that the Company has incurred significant losses since its inception and expects to incur losses for the foreseeable future; the Company's need for additional funding, which may not be available; raising additional capital may cause dilution to its stockholders, restrict its operations or require it to relinquish rights to its technologies or drug candidates; the Company's limited operating history; the terms of the Company's credit facility place restrictions on its operating and financial flexibility; failure to use and expand its medicinal nanoengineering platform to build a pipeline of drug candidates and develop marketable drugs; the early stage of the Company's development efforts with only BIND-014 and AZD2811 in clinical development; failure of the Company or its collaborators to successfully develop and commercialize drug candidates; clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome; delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials; serious adverse or unacceptable side effects or limited efficacy observed during the development of the Company's drug candidates; inability to maintain any of the Company's collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; the Company's reliance on third parties to conduct its clinical trials and manufacture its drug candidates; the Company's inability to obtain required regulatory approvals; any conclusion by the FDA that BIND-014 does not satisfy the requirements for approval under the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway; the fact that a fast track or breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the Company's drug candidates may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process; the inability to obtain orphan drug exclusivity for drug candidates; failure to obtain marketing approval in international jurisdictions; any post-marketing restrictions or withdrawals from the market; effects of recently enacted and future legislation; failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; failure to achieve market acceptance by physicians, patients, or third-party payors; failure to establish effective sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties with such capabilities; effects of substantial competition; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; product liability lawsuits; failure to retain key executives and attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; difficulties in managing the Company's growth; risks associated with operating internationally, including the possibility of sanctions with respect to our operations in Russia; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; failure to obtain and maintain patent protection for or otherwise protect our technology and products; effects of patent or other intellectual property lawsuits; the price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially; significant costs and required management time as a result of operating as a public company; and any securities class action litigation. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on November 2, 2015, and our other reports filed with the SEC could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
