Chimerix Acquires Oncoceutics to Expand Pipeline with Late-Stage Oncology Program

Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on accelerating the development of medicines to treat cancer and other serious diseases, today announced that the Company has acquired Oncoceutics, Inc., a privately-held, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing imipridones, a novel class of compounds. Oncoceutics’ lead product candidate, ONC201, has been shown in clinical testing to selectively induce cell death in multiple cancer types. ONC201 is currently in a registrational clinical trial for recurrent H3 K27M-mutant glioma and a confirmatory response rate assessment is expected in 2021.

ONC201 is an orally administered small molecule dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist and caseinolytic protease (ClpP) agonist in late-stage clinical development for recurrent gliomas that harbor the H3 K27M mutation. Recurrent glioma is a form of brain cancer with a particularly poor prognosis having a median overall survival of approximately eight months. Recurrent pediatric patients, with cancer that carries the H3 K27M mutation, have an even worse prognosis with median overall survival of approximately four months. Compelling responses at this stage of disease are rare and lack durability. Patients with this mutation are considered grade IV by the World Health Organization, regardless of underlying histology or age. Initial evaluation of data from the full 50-subject registration cohort, which remains subject to full maturation and confirmation by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR), indicate a compelling and particularly durable single agent Overall Response Rate (ORR) of at least 20% as assessed by Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology-High Grade Glioma (RANO-HGG). The final confirmatory data analysis is expected in 2021.

“Patients with H3 K27M-mutant glioma are in desperate need of better therapeutic alternatives,” said Dr. Patrick Wen, Director, Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. “The tumor responses and safety profile we have observed with ONC201 in this devastating disease are compelling and I look forward to the possibility of accelerating its delivery to patients.”

“Glioma remains one of the highest areas of unmet need in oncology where even first-line radiation therapy, as well as temozolomide in eligible patients, is not meaningfully effective and subsequent therapies are considered palliative. Further, there are no molecularly-targeted therapies for patients which harbor the H3 K27M mutation in this life-limiting disease. Given the urgent need and based on discussions with the FDA, there is a potential accelerated path to approval based on overall response. With a registration cohort of patients fully enrolled, treated, and preliminary data in hand, ONC201 offers an exciting near-term opportunity to quickly bring a potentially life-saving therapy and hope to patients with limited or no options,” said Mike Sherman, Chief Executive Officer of Chimerix. “Our team is uniquely positioned to advance ONC201 given our considerable experience bringing targeted oncology products through the regulatory process.”

“Oncoceutics represents a transformative acquisition for Chimerix, positioning the company with five assets across all stages of development and delivering on our goal to focus on oncology opportunities, complementing our Phase 3 study in acute myeloid leukemia with DSTAT.

With the upcoming Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of April 7, 2021 for brincidofovir in smallpox and the confirmatory response rate assessment of ONC201 in 2021, we expect these near-term milestones to accelerate delivery of two new therapies in areas of particularly high unmet need,” concluded Mr. Sherman.

“We are thrilled to join the Chimerix team to help accelerate ONC201 to glioma patients in urgent need of effective treatments. Chimerix has the leadership and resources to bring this program successfully through to approval and to further develop other promising assets in the Oncoceutics pipeline,” said Lee Schalop, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oncoceutics. “This acquisition builds upon the vision of my co-founder Wolfgang Oster, M.D., Ph.D., scientific founder Wafik El-Deiry, M.D., Ph.D., FACP and all the employees at Oncoceutics in developing a therapy for patients for which there is no available treatment.”

Clinical Development Plan for ONC201 in H3 K27M-mutant Glioma

The current Phase 2 clinical program for ONC201 includes a 50 subject registration cohort comprised of patients greater than 2 years of age with recurrent diffuse midline glioma that harbor the H3 K27M mutation, that have measurable disease, received radiation at least 90 days prior to enrollment and displayed evidence of progressive disease, and certain other criteria. This registration cohort is comprised of patients from multiple clinical trials and has completed enrollment. A BICR analysis is expected to take place in 2021 which, if favorable, may form the basis for regulatory approval of ONC201 in the United States. A BICR of the first 30 patients was completed and presented at the Society of Neuro-Oncology meeting held in November 2020. ONC201 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile with a database of over 350 treated patients. ONC201 has been generally well tolerated during extended periods of administration and the most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) were nausea/vomiting, fatigue and decreased lymphocyte counts.

The FDA has granted ONC201 Fast Track Designation for the treatment of adult recurrent H3 K27M-mutant high-grade glioma, Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for treatment of H3 K27M-mutant glioma, and Orphan Drug Designations for the treatment of glioblastoma and for the treatment of malignant glioma.

Over 300 subjects with recurrent high-grade gliomas, including gliomas with H3 K27M mutations, have been treated with ONC201 across three company-sponsored studies and an expanded access program.

Source: Biospace