Seattle Genetics' Antibody Drug Conjugate Tech Prominent at ASCO Meeting

Seattle Genetics, the company that pioneered the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform in Adcetris, the Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment, has data presented from a handful of collaborator programs at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) 50th Annual Meeting being held May 30 to June 3, 2014 in Chicago, IL.

Preliminary data from ongoing clinical trials were presented in the treatment of the likes of prostate cancer, glioblastoma, and non-small cell lung cancer.

ADCs Against NHLs

Others included prelim results of a phase II randomized study (ROMULUS) of polatuzumab vedotin or pinatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab in patients diagnosed with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Both polatuzumab vedotin (anti-CD79b) and pinatuzumab vedotin (anti-CD22) are ADCs being developed by Genentech. They consist of anti-CD79b or anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody conjugated to the cytotoxic agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) using Seattle Genetics’ ADC technology.

Preliminary results from an ongoing phase 2 clinical trial were reported evaluating the activity and safety of polatuzumab vedotin or pinatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab in 59 and 63 patients, respectively, with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Both polatuzumab vedotin and pinatuzumab vedotin demonstrated antitumor activity with similar and generally acceptable safety profiles. Durable responses were observed in both diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma. This included patients refractory to rituximab and/or their most recent therapy. Treatment with polatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab demonstrated an objective response of 56 percent (22 of 39 patients) in DLBCL and 70 percent (14 of 20 patients) in follicular lymphoma. Treatment with pinatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab demonstrated an objective response of 57 percent (24 of 42 patients) in DLBCL and 62 percent (13 of 21 patients) in follicular lymphoma.

"Researchers at Seattle Genetics have identified and optimized novel components that are fundamental to creating antibody-drug conjugates, including potent cell-killing agents and conditionally stable linker systems," said Jonathan Drachman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Seattle Genetics. "Our collaborators are making great progress in advancing novel ADC candidates as evidenced by the encouraging data presentations at ASCO. Seattle Genetics continues to lead the field in developing ADC candidates, which demonstrate the therapeutic potential of our technology broadly through both our proprietary and collaborator programs."

Source: MarketWatch