BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AVEO Oncology (Nasdaq: AVEO) today announced that it will regain its rights to AV-203 outside of North America, its clinical-stage potent humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets ErbB3 (also known as HER3), following the voluntary termination of its collaboration and license agreement by CANbridge Life Sciences. AVEO will regain rights to AV-203 in all territories outside of North America, and CANbridge has initiated the process to transfer all preclinical data and materials to AVEO. The transfer of rights and termination of the collaboration and license agreement will become effective on September 5, 2021.
AV-203 is an IgG1 antibody designed to inhibit both ligand-dependent and ligand-independent ErbB3 signaling. ErbB3 is a receptor that is typically expressed in many human cancers, and AV-203 has demonstrated preclinical activity in multiple tumor models. To date, AVEO has completed a Phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation study of AV-203 in patients with advanced solid tumors (N=22). In this study, one patient had a dose limiting adverse event and the recommended phase 2 dose, or RP2D, is 20 mg/kg. One of two neuregulin positive (NRG1+) patients had a partial response. Neuregulin, the only known ligand for ErbB3, is a potential biomarker which may prove to be predictive of AV-203 anti-tumor activity.
“By reacquiring rights to AV-203 outside of North America, we add global rights to a third IgG1 antibody clinical candidate within our internally developed and diverse portfolio of oncology therapeutics,” said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. “AV-203 has demonstrated early signs of activity in an NRG1+ patient that suggest it could have meaningful application in several areas of high unmet need in cancer. We look forward to advancing AV-203 in the clinic as part of our strategy for delivering long-term value from our pipeline programs. This strategy includes progress in our immunotherapy combination programs for FOTIVDA® (tivozanib), potential initiation of a pivotal study of ficlatuzumab in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and the execution of our Phase 1 study of AV-380 for cancer cachexia.”
Under their 2016 agreement, AVEO granted CANbridge Life Sciences worldwide rights, excluding the United States, Canada, and Mexico, to AV-203. CANbridge completed their manufacturing obligations under the agreement and AVEO received a $2 million development and regulatory milestone in August 2018 from CANbridge for regulatory approval from the National Medical Products Administration in China of an investigational new drug application for a clinical study of AV-203 in esophageal squamous cell cancer.
About AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AVEO is an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering medicines that provide a better life for cancer patients. AVEO’s strategy is to focus its resources toward development and commercialization of its product candidates in North America, while leveraging partnerships to support development and commercialization in other geographies. AVEO’s lead candidate, FOTIVDA® (tivozanib), received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on March 10, 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies. FOTIVDA® was approved in August 2017 in the European Union and other countries in the EUSA territory for the treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC. AVEO has previously reported promising early clinical data on ficlatuzumab (anti-HGF IgG1 mAb) in head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer and acute myeloid leukemia and is conducting a randomized Phase 2 confirmatory clinical trial of ficlatuzumab for the potential treatment of head and neck cancer. AVEO’s pipeline of product candidates also includes AV-380 (anti-GDF15 IgG1 mAb). AVEO has previously reported the acceptance of its investigational new drug application in the U.S. for AV-380 and its initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for the potential treatment of cancer cachexia. AVEO’s earlier-stage pipeline includes monoclonal antibodies in oncology development, including AV-203 (anti-ErbB3 mAb) and AV-353 (anti-Notch 3 mAb). AVEO is committed to creating an environment of diversity and inclusion.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements of AVEO within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “hope,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “seek,” “look forward,” “advance,” “goal,” “strategy,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about: AVEO’s planned timing for making FOTIVDA available to patients in the U.S.; the potential for FOTIVDA as a treatment option for patients with relapsed/refractory or advanced RCC; the potential efficacy, safety and tolerability of FOTIVDA, both as a stand-alone drug candidate and in combination with immunotherapy; AVEO’s execution of its clinical and regulatory strategy for FOTIVDA; AVEO’s plans and strategies for current and future clinical trials of FOTIVDA, ficlatuzumab, AV-380 and AV-203 and for commercialization of FOTIVDA in the U.S.; the advancement of AVEO’s pipeline, including the advancement of ficlatuzumab in multiple clinical studies; the potential efficacy, safety and tolerability of ficlatuzumab, both as a stand-alone drug candidate and in combination with other therapies; the potential outcomes from studies of ficlatuzumab to provide AVEO with opportunities to pursue regulatory strategies; the potential clinical utility of ficlatuzumab and AV-203 in areas of unmet need; and AVEO’s strategy, prospects, plans and objectives for its product candidates and for the Company generally. AVEO has based its expectations and estimates on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these expectations and estimates. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that AVEO makes due to a number of important factors, including risks relating to: AVEO’s ability to successfully implement its strategic plans, including its ability to successfully commercialize FOTIVDA and to obtain and maintain market and third party payor acceptance of FOTIVDA; AVEO’s ability to raise the substantial additional funds required to successfully commercialize FOTIVDA; AVEO’s ability, and the ability of its licensees, to demonstrate to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory agencies such as the FDA the safety, efficacy and clinically meaningful benefit of AVEO’s product candidates, and risks relating to the timing and costs of seeking and obtaining regulatory approvals; AVEO’s dependence on third-party vendors for the development, manufacture and supply of FOTIVDA and its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to enter into and maintain its third party collaboration and license agreements, and its ability, and the ability of its strategic partners, to achieve development and commercialization objectives under these arrangements; AVEO’s and its collaborators’ ability to successfully enroll and complete clinical trials; AVEO’s ability to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to FOTIVDA and its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to obtain and maintain adequate protection for intellectual property rights relating to FOTIVDA and its product candidates; unplanned capital requirements; uncertainties related to AVEO’s ability to access future borrowings under the Hercules loan facility, which turns on the achievement of milestones related to the commercialization of FOTIVDA in the U.S.; adverse general economic, political, and industry conditions; the potential adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AVEO’s business continuity, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and ability to successfully and timely enroll, complete and read-out data from its clinical trials; competitive factors; and those risks discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” included in AVEO’s quarterly and annual reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that AVEO makes with the SEC. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent AVEO’s views as of the date of this press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change. While AVEO may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing AVEO's views as of any date other than the date of this press release.
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