Immunomedics Announces New Data for IMMU-132 at Investor R&D Day

Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) (“Immunomedics” or “the Company”) today announced new data for sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) during the Company’s Investor R&D Day.
IMMU-132 is Immunomedics’ proprietary solid tumor therapy candidate that is advancing through development in four indications: metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the lead indication and for which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded Breakthrough Therapy Designation; urothelial cancer (UC); small-cell lung cancer (SCLC); and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Immunomedics expects to submit a Biological License Application (BLA) to the FDA for accelerated approval of IMMU-132 in TNBC patients in mid-2017.Cynthia L. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The data to support our BLA filing for accelerated approval for IMMU-132 in TNBC continues to improve as more confirmed results become available for the patients enrolled into our TNBC clinical trial. Additionally, with the assistance of our outside financial and strategic advisor, Greenhill & Co., LLC, we are making significant progress with multiple partnership and strategic opportunities for IMMU-132, and we are very encouraged with the interest thus far. We believe there is a limited and diminishing number of compelling oncology assets available, and we are focused on bringing IMMU-132 to late-stage cancer patients as expeditiously as possible. Furthermore, now is the right time to deliver on the potential value of IMMU-132 on behalf of our stockholders.”
New IMMU-132 Results Highlight Progress Toward Potential Accelerated Approval
Ms. Sullivan reported that IMMU-132 has been studied in over 410 diverse cancer patients, with the dose of 10 mg/kg given on days 1 and 8 of repeated 21-day cycles being the established dose regimen. According to Ms. Sullivan, some patients have been treated for more than a year.The Company has engaged an independent third-party to review pertinent radiological scan results from the TNBC and its NSCLC indications, in a blinded fashion, as per FDA requirements.Immunomedics disclosed results in 85 assessable TNBC patients. These results will be part of the BLA submission for the accelerated approval of IMMU-132. The Company announced last month that it had achieved the goal of enrolling 100 TNBC patients, as requested by FDA for this BLA filing. The Company reported that the objective response rate and median progression-free survival (PFS, intention-to-treat, or ITT, basis) have been maintained with these additional patient results, while the median overall survival (OS also on ITT basis) has been extended to almost 19 months. These patients experienced two complete and 23 partial responses, while an additional three patients with initial partial responses are awaiting confirmation. Overall, 81% of patients treated with IMMU-132 showed tumor shrinkage from baseline measurements. The clinical benefit rate (complete and partial remissions, and patients with stable disease) at six months or later computed to 44%. The median duration of response for those with objective responses was almost 11 months. It was emphasized that these are interim results, since 20 patients are continuing treatment; a final outcome must await analysis of all patients enrolled.The major toxicity (grade >3) has been neutropenia (39%) in this and most cancer patient cohorts, which has been manageable by dose reduction, dose delays, or giving a hematopoietic cytokine. Diarrhea, which is the major side effect with irinotecan, the parent drug from which SN-38 is derived, has been much less, such as a grade >3 of 13%.