CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that its therapy for glioblastoma has shown a 67% survival rate at five years, three years after the clinical trials ended.
Four out of nine of the patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) who were part of the clinical study were reported to be alive three years after the trial, which tested the drug candidate CAN008 along with standard chemoradiotherapy treatment. The overall survival rate at two years post trial completion was 83%. The study was conducted as part of a long-term follow-up of the phase 1/2 trial.
With an incidence of 3.21 per 100,000 population in the U.S., GBM is a fast-growing, aggressive brain tumor that invades the brain tissues, and is detected through computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
“Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the deadliest cancers, with survival rates of less than 15 months, few treatment advances and a high unmet medical need,” said Gerry Cox, chief medical officer and chief development strategist at CANbridge.
CANbridge Pharmaceuticals‘ CANOO8 for glioblastoma
The Beijing-based biopharma’s candidate CAN008 is a glycosylation fusion protein which binds to the ligand CD95L, blocking the interaction between the CD95 receptor and CD95L, affecting tumor growth. Patients were given a high dose of the treatment.
A high tumor mutation burden and DNAH family gene mutation – which are indicators to positive responses to immunotherapy – were associated with a favorable response to CAN008 therapy, according to the study.
“We are pleased to see a median progression-free-survival of 17.95 months in CAN008 glioblastoma multiforme patients, more than double the historical median PFS for standard-of-care GBM patients, and that 67% of the CAN008 high-dose patients were alive after five years, in a cancer where patients typically progress very rapidly and survival rates are dismal,” said Cox.
James Xue, CANbridge founder, chairman and CEO said: “While this is a small study, we are extremely encouraged by the high five-year survival rate of patients in our CAN008 phase 1/2 trial, three years after its completion, in glioblastoma multiforme, a cancer with typically poor outcomes.”
Further data from the study will be presented as a poster at the European Society of Medical Oncologists (ESMO) Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Annual Congress in Lugano, Switzerland, which will take place between March 20 and 22.
Earlier this year, a team of researchers from Korea and the U.S. unveiled the mechanism of radioresistance in glioblastoma cells, identifying therapeutic targets to overcome radioresistance. The team also discovered a clinical drug that sensitizes glioblastoma cells to radiotherapy and could replace temozolomide (chemotherapy).