BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLVS) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the Company’s investigational agent CO-1686 as monotherapy for the treatment of second-line EGFR mutant NSCLC in patients with the T790M mutation. The Breakthrough Therapy designation was granted based on interim efficacy and safety results from an ongoing Phase 1/2 study of CO-1686. CO-1686 is the Company’s novel, oral, targeted covalent (irreversible) inhibitor of mutant forms of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in patients with initial activating EGFR mutations as well as the dominant resistance mutation T790M.
“We very much appreciate this designation by FDA, which recognizes the meaningful benefit CO-1686 may provide patients with T790M positive NSCLC,” said Patrick J. Mahaffy, President and CEO of Clovis Oncology. “This designation is well timed for us as well, as the increased interaction with FDA that it provides will come as we are initiating our registration studies and preparing to submit our initial New Drug Application (NDA) by mid-2015.”
Interim results from an ongoing Phase 1/2 study of CO-1686 were presented at the 4th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) in Geneva in late March. An objective response rate of 64 percent in 14 of 22 evaluable T790M positive patients was observed. CO-1686 is well-tolerated, with only one patient who discontinued treatment with CO-1686 due to adverse events. There was no evidence of systemic wild-type EGFR inhibition.
The next update of CO-1686 clinical data will be presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in a Clinical Science Symposium titled, “Targeting EGFR: The Next 10 Years”, taking place on Saturday, May 31 in Chicago.
The Company is currently enrolling two Phase 2 expansion cohorts of its Phase 1/2 study in EGFR mutant patients with the T790M mutation. Data from the expansion cohorts, combined with data from the TIGER2 study, in T790M positive patients directly after progression on their first and only TKI therapy, are expected to serve as the basis of an NDA submission for CO-1686 by mid-2015.
About Breakthrough Therapy Designation
The Breakthrough Therapy designation was enacted as part of the 2012 FDA Safety and Innovation Act and is intended to expedite development and review of drugs to treat serious or life-threatening medical conditions when preliminary clinical evidence demonstrates that the drug may have substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapies. Breakthrough Therapy designation includes all the features of the Fast Track designation, as well as more intensive guidance from the FDA on a drug’s clinical development program.
About CO-1686
CO-1686 is a novel, oral, targeted covalent (irreversible) inhibitor of the cancer-causing mutant forms of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) currently being studied for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). CO-1686 was designed to selectively target both the initial activating EGFR mutations as well as the T790M resistance mutation, while sparing wild-type, or “normal” EGFR at anticipated therapeutic doses. Accordingly, it has the potential to treat NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations both as a first-line or second-line treatment with a reduced toxicity profile compared to current EGFR inhibitor therapies. The Company is currently studying CO-1686 in Phase 2 expansion cohorts of NSCLC patients with activating EGFR mutations who have failed initial EGFR-directed therapy and have developed the T790M resistance mutation.
About EGFR and Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide with 1.7 million new cases annually, with NSCLC accounting for almost 85 percent of all lung cancers. NSCLC progresses rapidly with a five-year survival rate in advanced NSCLC patients of less than five percent. EGFR activating mutations occur in approximately 10 to 15 percent of NSCLC cases in Caucasian patients and approximately 30 to 35 percent in East Asian patients. These patients experience significant tumor response to Tarceva and Iressa, which are first-generation EGFR inhibitors. However, most patients ultimately progress on Tarceva and Iressa therapy, with approximately 60 percent of patients developing acquired resistance from a second, or “gatekeeper” mutation, T790M.
About Clovis Oncology
Clovis Oncology, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing innovative anti-cancer agents in the U.S., Europe and additional international markets. Clovis Oncology targets development programs at specific subsets of cancer populations, and simultaneously develops diagnostic tools that direct a compound in development to the population that is most likely to benefit from its use. Clovis Oncology is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Clovis Oncology, they are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in our clinical development programs for our drug candidates, the corresponding development pathways of our companion diagnostics, actions by the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities regarding whether to approve drug applications that may be filed, as well as their decisions regarding drug labeling, and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of our drug candidates or companion diagnostics, including competitive developments. Clovis Oncology does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements. A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Clovis Oncology’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and its reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.
