• 10 Feb 2024
• Admin
• News Article

Theriva gets IDMC recommendation

Theriva gets IDMC recommendation to continue enrollment in VIRAGE phase 2b trial of VCN-01 in combo with chemotherapy for metastatic PDAC

Theriva Biologics, a diversified clinical-stage company developing therapeutics designed to treat cancer and related diseases in areas of high unmet need, announced that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) recommended the continuation of enrollment as planned into VIRAGE, a multinational, phase 2b, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial evaluating VCN-01 in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy (gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel) as a first-line therapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

According to the IDMC's comprehensive assessment of clinical data from patients enrolled across 6 sites open in the US and 9 sites open in Spain, the ongoing phase 2b trial will continue without any changes to the protocol. No safety concerns were raised based on the evaluation of data presented at the IDMC meeting. Intravenous VCN-01 has been well tolerated and demonstrated a safety profile consistent with prior clinical trials. Importantly, no additional toxicities were observed in patients receiving a second dose of VCN-01, providing the first clinical evidence of the feasibility of repeated systemic dosing. VIRAGE remains on track to complete enrollment in the first half of 2024.

"The positive IDMC review of VCN-01 safety following repeated systemic dosing marks a significant step forward for our lead programme. VCN-01 is a highly differentiated, systemic, selective, stroma-degrading oncolytic adenovirus," said Steven A. Shallcross, chief executive officer of Theriva Biologics. “With the IDMC’s recommendation, we will continue to drive forward the VIRAGE study and explore the potential of VCN-01 to improve outcomes in first-line metastatic PDAC patients treated with standard-of-care chemotherapy. We have shown that repeated systemic dosing of VCN-01 is feasible from a safety perspective, and can now focus on whether the repeated-dose VCN-01 regimen may lead to improved clinical outcomes for patients with PDAC and other solid cancers.”

VIRAGE is a two-arm phase 2b open-label, randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial in patients with histologically confirmed, newly-diagnosed metastatic PDAC. VIRAGE is expected to enroll up to 92 adult participants at up to 25 sites across the US and Spain. In both the control and treatment arms, patients will receive gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel standard-of-care chemotherapy over 28-day cycles. In the treatment arm only, patients will also receive systemically administered VCN-01 seven-days prior to the first and fourth cycles of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel treatment. Primary endpoints for the trial include overall survival and VCN-01 safety/tolerability. Additional endpoints include progression free survival, objective response rate, and measures of biodistribution, VCN-01 replication, and immune response. Since this is an open-label trial, progress will be monitored very closely and steps to accelerate the clinical program may be implemented if supported by the emerging data.

VCN-01 is a systemically administered oncolytic adenovirus designed to selectively and aggressively replicate within tumour cells and degrade the tumour stroma that serves as a significant physical and immunosuppressive barrier to cancer treatment. This unique mode-of-action enables VCN-01 to exert multiple antitumor effects by (i) selectively infecting and lysing tumour cells; (ii) enhancing the access and perfusion of co-administered chemotherapy products; and (iii) increasing tumour immunogenicity and exposing the tumour to the patient’s immune system and co-administered immunotherapy products. Systemic administration enables VCN-01 to exert its actions on both the primary tumour and metastases. VCN-01 has been administered to over 80 patients in Phase 1 and investigator-sponsored clinical trials of different cancers, including PDAC (in combination with chemotherapy), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (with an immune checkpoint inhibitor), ovarian cancer (with CAR-T cell therapy), colorectal cancer, and retinoblastoma (by intravitreal injection).

Theriva Biologics, is a diversified clinical-stage company developing therapeutics designed to treat cancer and related diseases in areas of high unmet need. The company is advancing a new oncolytic adenovirus platform designed for intravenous (IV), intravitreal and antitumoral delivery to trigger tumour cell death, improve access of co-administered cancer therapies to the tumour, and promote a robust and sustained anti-tumour response by the patient’s immune system.