MacroGenics Presents Flotetuzumab Data in Patients with Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting

Rhea-AI Summary

MacroGenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX) announced updated results from a study of flotetuzumab in patients with primary induction failure (PIF) and early relapsed (ER6) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The treatment achieved a 31.8% CR/CRh/CRi rate and a median response duration of 8.13 months. Among the 44 patients treated, many had adverse risk factors, yet 57.1% of responders received allogeneic stem cell transplants. The most common adverse event was mild cytokine release syndrome. This promising data was presented at the American Society of Hematology's Annual Meeting.

Positive

• 31.8% CR/CRh/CRi rate in PIF/ER6 AML patients.
• Median duration of response is 8.13 months.
• 57.1% of responders received successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Negative

• All patients experienced treatment-related adverse events, primarily mild cytokine release syndrome.

• 31.8% CR/CRh/CRi rate in primary induction failure and early relapsed AML patients
• Median duration of response = 8.13 months

ROCKVILLE, MD, Dec. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  

MacroGenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today announced updated results from a single-arm, registrational study of flotetuzumab, an investigational, bispecific CD123 × CD3 DART® molecule, in patients with primary induction failure (PIF) and early relapsed (less than six months, or ER6) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The data were presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) taking place December 5-8, 2020.

In the open label study of flotetuzumab, 44 AML patients had disease classified as either PIF or ER6. Of these patients, 72.7% (32 of 44) had adverse risk cytogenetics by ELN Risk Stratification (2017). Patients were treated with flotetuzumab at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) of 500 ng/kg/day by continuous infusion. Data were reported as of the cut-off date of November 10, 2020. The study is currently ongoing, with a total of up to 200 patients planned for enrollment for registrational purposes.

The median time to achieve a response to flotetuzumab was one cycle (range of 1-3 cycles). Responses, including complete remission (CR), CRh (CR with partial hematological recovery) and CRi (CR with incomplete hematological improvement) per a modified International Working Group (IWG) Response Criteria for AML, are summarized in the table below.

	PIF/ER (n=44)	PIF (n=27)	ER6 (n=17)
CR/CRh	25.0% (11)	33.3% (9)	11.8% (2)
CR/CRh/Cri	31.8% (14)	37.0% (10)	23.5% (4)
HSCT	57.1% (8/14)	70.0% (7/10)	25.0% (1/4)
Median Duration of Response	8.13 mos. (n=14)	15.2 mos. (n=10)	2.4 mos. (n=4)

As shown in the table, over 50% of responders (8 of 14) successfully received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as consolidation therapy with durable remission (median not reached). Also, among those PIF/ER6 patients who achieved remission (CR, CRh or CRi), the median duration of response was 8.13 months, with a median overall survival of 10.7 months. Within the PIF/ER6 population, five of ten patients with TP53^MUT AML achieved CR/CRh/CRi responses, three of whom went on to receive HSCT. More detailed flotetuzumab clinical data in the TP53^MUT AML population is available via a separate poster presentation at ASH (see “TP53 Abnormalities Correlate with Immune Infiltration and Associate with Response to Flotetuzumab Immunotherapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia”, Session 617).

The most common treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) was infusion-related reaction/cytokine release syndrome (IRR/CRS), which occurred in all patients. However, most CRS events observed were of short duration and mild to moderate (Grade 1 or 2) in severity, with only a single Grade 3 event reported.

“For the approximately 50% of AML patients who fail primary induction therapy or relapse within six months of an initial response, there is no standard of care among the available treatment regimens. Historically, these patients have CR/CRh rates to subsequent interventions in the range of only 5-12% with a median overall survival of approximately 3.5 months. A remission rate of 32% with good duration and a manageable safety profile observed to date in the ongoing registrational study of flotetuzumab in this extremely challenging patient population is very encouraging,” said Ibrahim Aldoss, M.D., Assistant Professor of Hematology/HCT at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In addition to the above data provided in an oral presentation, five additional presentations related to flotetuzumab and AML have or will be presented at ASH.

“We are very encouraged by the updated results from this study, and continue to enroll patients in this single arm, registrational trial,” said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. “Especially encouraging is the duration of response we’ve seen to date in this otherwise fragile population of patients for whom no approved therapies exist.”

About Acute Myeloid Leukemia

AML is a hematological malignancy characterized by differentiation arrest and uncontrolled clonal proliferation of neoplastic precursors that prevent normal bone marrow hematopoiesis. Nearly 20,000 new cases of AML are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, with a median age of 69 years at diagnosis. Approximately 40-50% of newly diagnosed patients fail to achieve a complete remission with intensive induction therapy (primary induction failure, or PIF) or experience disease recurrence after a short remission duration (<6 months; early relapsed, or ER6). A very small number of these patients are expected to respond to salvage therapy. Although new targeted agents have been approved for the treatment of frontline or relapsed/refractory AML in recent years, approximately 50% of patients have no known targetable mutations.

About Flotetuzumab

Flotetuzumab (previously known as MGD006) is a clinical-stage bispecific, investigational DART molecule that recognizes both CD123 and CD3. CD123, the interleukin-3 receptor alpha chain, has been reported to be over-expressed on malignant cells in AML and other hematologic malignancies. The primary mechanism of action of flotetuzumab is believed to be its ability to redirect T lymphocytes to kill CD123-expressing cells. To achieve this, the DART molecule combines a portion of an antibody recognizing CD3, an activating molecule expressed by T cells, with an arm that recognizes CD123 on the target cells. MacroGenics is conducting a single-arm, registration-enabling clinical study to evaluate flotetuzumab in up to 200 patients with PIF/ER AML, with complete remission (CR) and CR with partial hematological recovery (CRh) as the primary endpoint. The study will be conducted as a continuation of the ongoing Phase 1/2 study (NCT02152956). The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to flotetuzumab for the treatment of AML. MacroGenics retains global development and commercialization rights to flotetuzumab.

About MacroGenics, Inc.

MacroGenics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The Company generates its pipeline of product candidates primarily from its proprietary suite of next-generation antibody-based technology platforms, which have applicability across broad therapeutic domains. For more information, please see the Company's website at www.macrogenics.com. MacroGenics, the MacroGenics logo and DART are trademarks or registered trademarks of MacroGenics, Inc.

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Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements about the Company's strategy, future operations, clinical development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, milestone or opt-in payments from the Company's collaborators, the Company's anticipated milestones and future expectations and plans and prospects for the Company and other statements containing the words "subject to", "believe", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "project", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "can", the negatives thereof, variations thereon and similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation and enrollment of future clinical trials, expectations of expanding ongoing clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials, expectations for the timing and steps required in the regulatory review process, expectations for regulatory approvals, the impact of competitive products, our ability to enter into agreements with strategic partners and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of the Company's product candidates, business or economic disruptions due to catastrophes or other events, including natural disasters or public health crises such as the novel coronavirus (referred to as COVID-19), and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views only as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as may be required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

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FAQ

What were the results of the MacroGenics flotetuzumab study?

The study reported a 31.8% CR/CRh/CRi rate in patients with primary induction failure and early relapsed acute myeloid leukemia.

What is the significance of the 8.13 months median duration of response?

The 8.13 months median duration of response indicates the effectiveness and durability of flotetuzumab in treating difficult AML cases.

How many patients were treated with flotetuzumab in the study?

A total of 44 patients with AML were treated with flotetuzumab in the study.

What percentage of responders underwent stem cell transplantation after flotetuzumab treatment?

57.1% of responders went on to receive allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

What are the common treatment-related adverse events reported?

The most common adverse events were infusion-related reactions and cytokine release syndrome, mostly mild to moderate.