Updated Phase 2 Survival Data of Cyclacel's Sapacitabine for MDS Presented at The Eighth Annual Hematologic Malignancies 2012 Conference
Conference Call to Review Results to be Held on Monday, October 15 at 3:30pm ET
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., Oct. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:CYCC) (Nasdaq:CYCCP) (Cyclacel or the Company) announced that updated data from an ongoing, multicenter, Phase 2 randomized trial of oral sapacitabine capsules, the Company's lead product candidate, in older patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) after treatment failure of front-line hypomethylating agents, such as azacitidine (Vidaza(R)) and/or decitabine (Dacogen(R)), will be discussed at two separate sessions at The Eighth Annual Hematologic Malignancies 2012 Conference being held on October 10-14, 2012, in Houston, Texas. Median overall survival to date for all 63 patients is 252 days or approximately 8 months. Median overall survival for 41 out of 63 patients with 10% or more blasts in their bone marrow is 274 days or approximately 9 months.
"The updated survival data reported from this sapacitabine study in MDS patients after treatment failures of hypomethylating agents are impressive in our experience," said Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., Chief of the Section of Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Professor, Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and an investigator for the study. "If they are reproduced in subsequent studies, sapacitabine may become a new treatment standard for older patients."
"MDS patients have a poor outcome after treatment failures with front-line therapies. The updated survival data support previously reported data indicating that sapacitabine is active in this patient population," said Hagop Kantarjian, M.D., Chairman & Professor, Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and principal investigator for the study. "Median survival for patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk MDS following treatment failures of hypomethylating agents is 4.3 to 5.6 months. We urgently need effective therapies for these patients."
Results
The updated median survival for all three arms is 252 days
(approximately 8 months). The median survival for each arm was 291
days (approximately 10 months) for Arm G, 274 days (approximately 9
months) for Arm H, and 227 days (approximately 8 months) for Arm
I.
Twenty-seven percent of all patients received 6 or more
cycles.
Twenty-two percent of patients are still alive and longer follow-up
is needed to assess 1-year survival and overall survival of each
arm.
Study Design
The open-label, multi-center, Phase 2 study randomized 63
patients aged
60 years or older with MDS of intermediate-2 (n=52) or high-risk
(n=11) classification by the International Prognostic Scoring
System (IPSS) at study entry to receive sapacitabine every 4 weeks
on one of 3 dosing
schedules: 200 mg twice daily for 7 days (Arm G), 300 mg once daily
for
7 days (Arm H), or 100 mg once daily for 5 days per week for 2
weeks (Arm I). The primary efficacy endpoint of the study is 1-year
survival with the objective of identifying a dosing schedule that
produces a better 1-year survival rate in the event that all three
dosing schedules are active. All patients in the study progressed
after receiving azacitidine, decitabine, or both agents.
The Eighth Annual Hematologic Malignancies 2012 Conference
Information on The Eighth Annual Hematologic Malignancies 2012
Conference can be at accessed at:
http://hm2012.homestead.com.
Presentation times are as follows:
Session IV: Myelodysplastic Syndromes I
Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD: "New MDS Strategies"
Date/Time: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 5:40 PM Central
Session X: Myelodysplastic Syndromes II
Hagop Kantarjian, MD: "Keynote Speaker: MDS/MPD (with award
from MDACC1/Mayo Clinic)"
Date/Time: Saturday, October 13, 2012, 4:00 PM Central
Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD and Hagop Kantarjian, MD will
discuss on a Company conference call the updated data from
the above presentations. Conference call details are as
follows:
Date/Time: Monday, October 15, 2012, 3:30 PM Eastern
US/Canada call: (877) 493-9121/ international call: (973)
582-2750
US/Canada archive: (800) 585-8367 / international archive:
(404) 537-3406
Code for live and archived conference call is 44048598
About Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
MDS is a family of clonal myeloid neoplasms, or malignancies of the blood, caused by the failure of blood cells in the bone marrow to develop into mature cells. Patients with MDS typically suffer from bone marrow failure and cytopenias, or reduced counts of platelets, red and white blood cells. The exact incidence and prevalence of MDS are unknown because it can go undiagnosed and a national survey canvassing both hospitals and office practitioners has not been completed. Some estimates place MDS incidence at 15,000 to 20,000 new cases each year in the US alone with some authors estimating incidence as high as 46,000. Literature evidence suggests that there is a rising incidence of MDS as the age of the population increases with the majority of patients aged above 60 years.
Median survival for patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk
disease, as defined by the International Prognostic Scoring System
(IPSS), is
4.3 to 5.6 months.1, 2 Patients with high IPSS scores also have a
high probability of experiencing transformation of their MDS into
AML, an aggressive form of blood cancer with typically poor
survival.
1 Prebet T, Gore S, et al, Outcome of High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome After Azacitidine Treatment Failure, Journal of Clinical Oncology 2011, 10.1200/JCO.2011.35.8135.
2 Jabbour E, Garcia-Manero G, et al, Outcome of Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome After Failure of Decitabine Therapy, Cancer 2010, 10.1002/cncr.25247.
About sapacitabine
Sapacitabine (CYC682), an orally-available nucleoside analogue,
is in the SEAMLESS, registration-directed, Phase 3 trial in elderly
patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and in
the investigator-led, Phase 2/3 LI-1 Trial in patients aged 60
years or older with previously untreated AML or high risk MDS who
are unfit for intensive chemotherapy. Sapacitabine is in Phase 2
trials in patients with hematological malignancies, including
myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL),
chronic lymphocytic leukemia
(CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC), a Phase 1 trial in combination with seliciclib in
patients with advanced solid tumors and an investigator-led, Phase
2/3 study comparing sapacitabine to low dose cytarabine as
front-line treatment of elderly patients with AML or high risk MDS
unfit for intensive chemotherapy. Sapacitabine acts through a novel
DNA single-strand breaking mechanism, leading to production of DNA
double strand breaks (DSBs) and/or checkpoint activation.
Unrepaired DSBs cause cell death. Repair of sapacitabine-induced
DSBs is dependent on the homologous recombination DNA repair (HRR)
pathway. Both sapacitabine and CNDAC, its major metabolite, have
demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in preclinical studies.
Over 500 patients have received sapacitabine in Phase 2 studies in AML, MDS, CTCL and NSCLC and Phase 1 studies in both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Cyclacel reported data from a randomized Phase 2, single-agent study of sapacitabine including promising 1-year survival in elderly patients with AML aged 70 years or older. At the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Cyclacel reported data from a pilot Phase 1/2 study including promising response rate, low 4-week and 8-week mortality in elderly patients with AML aged 70 years or older receiving sapacitabine alternating with decitabine. Cyclacel is currently enrolling patients in the SEAMLESS, Phase 3, randomized, registration-directed study of sapacitabine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The FDA and the European Medicines Agency have designated sapacitabine as an orphan drug for the treatment of both AML and MDS. Sapacitabine is part of Cyclacel's pipeline of small molecule drugs designed to target and stop uncontrolled cell division.
About sapacitabine in MDS
A total of 124 patients aged 60 years or older with MDS
previously treated with hypomethylating agents (HMA) were treated
in a Cyclacel Phase 2 study. Initially 61 patients were randomized
across 3 dosing schedules of sapacitabine. Mature survival data
from this cohort were presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the
American Society of Hematology (ASH) on the basis of which the
study was subsequently expanded to compare additional dosing
schedules. Interim data on a further 63 patients were presented at
the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO), with median survival of
8.4 months. This survival level is considered clinically
significant by MDS experts in light of historical control
expectations of 4 to 5 months. At the time of ASCO 2012 over 34% of
the patients were still alive and longer follow-up is needed to
assess 1-year survival and overall survival. Updated mature
survival data will be reported in late
2012 or early 2013. Cyclacel is developing a pivotal development
plan for the indication of second-line MDS to present to regulatory
authorities.
At ASCO 2012 Cyclacel reported interim data from three schedules of sapacitabine administered as single-agent treatment over a 4-week cycle in 63 patients with IPSS intermediate-1 or higher risk MDS after treatment failure of hypomethylating agents: 200 mg twice daily for 7 days as Arm G, 300 mg once daily for 7 days as Arm H, or 100 mg once daily for 5 days per week for 2 weeks as Arm I. Median overall survival was 240 days (approx. 8 months) for Arm G, 290 days (approx. 10 months) for Arm H, and 153 days (approx. 5 months) for Arm I. Median overall survival for all three arms is 252 days (approx. 8 months). In terms of secondary efficacy endpoints complete remissions (CRs) and major hematologic improvement (HI) in platelet counts or neutrophils, were observed on all 3 dosing schedules: 1 CR and 3 HIs in Arm G, 1 CR and 2 HIs in Arm H, and 2 CRs and 1 HI in Arm I. The 30-day mortality from all causes is 5%. Forty-one percent of all patients received 4 or more cycles. At the time of ASCO 2012 more than 34% of the patients were still alive and longer follow-up is needed to assess 1-year survival and overall survival.
At ASH 2010 Cyclacel reported interim data from three schedules
of sapacitabine administered as single-agent treatment over a
4-week cycle in 61 patients with IPSS intermediate-1 or higher risk
MDS after treatment failure of hypomethylating agents: 200 mg twice
daily for 7 days as Arm A, 300 mg twice daily for 7 days as Arm B,
or 400 mg twice daily for 3 days per week for 2 weeks as Arm C. The
primary endpoint of 1-year survival was achieved in 29%, 30% and
35% of the patients respectively among the 3 schedules tested.
Median overall survival was
217 days (approx. 7 months), 232 days (approx. 8 months) and 236
days (approx. 8 months) respectively. Two patients achieved a CR
and 13 achieved major hematologic improvement. The 30-day mortality
from all causes was 6.6%.
About Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Cyclacel is a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Sapacitabine oral capsules is in the SEAMLESS Phase 3 trial being conducted under an SPA with the FDA as front-line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the elderly, Phase 2 studies for AML, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and solid tumors including lung cancer and in investigator-led studies including a Phase 2/3 study comparing sapacitabine to low dose cytarabine as front-line treatment of elderly patients with AML or high risk MDS unfit for intensive chemotherapy and a Phase 2 study in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Cyclacel's pipeline includes seliciclib oral capsules in Phase 2 studies for the treatment of lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer and in a Phase 1 trial in combination with sapacitabine. Cyclacel's strategy is to build a diversified biopharmaceutical business focused in hematology and oncology based on a development pipeline of novel drug candidates. Please visit www.cyclacel.com for additional information.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to be materially different from historical results or from
any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements
regarding, among other things, the efficacy, safety and intended
utilization of Cyclacel's product candidates, the conduct and
results of future clinical trials, plans regarding regulatory
filings, future research and clinical trials and plans regarding
partnering activities. Factors that may cause actual results to
differ materially include the risk that product candidates that
appeared promising in early research and clinical trials do not
demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later
clinical trials, trials may have difficulty enrolling, Cyclacel may
not obtain approval to market its product candidates, the risks
associated with reliance on outside financing to meet capital
requirements, and the risks associated with reliance on
collaborative partners for further clinical trials, development and
commercialization of product candidates. You are urged to consider
statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could,"
"should,"
"believes," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "expects,"
"plans,"
"anticipates," "intends," "continues," "forecast," "designed,"
"goal,"
or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be
uncertain and forward-looking. For a further list and description
of the risks and uncertainties the Company faces, please refer to
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic and
other filings we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
and are available at www.sec.gov. Such forward-looking statements
are current only as of the date they are made, and we assume no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(C) Copyright 2012 Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
The Cyclacel logo and Cyclacel(R) are trademarks of Cyclacel
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Vidaza(R) is a registered trademark of
Celgene Corporation. Dacogen(R) is a registered trademark used by
Eisai Inc.
under license from Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
1 MDACC = The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
CONTACT: Investors/Media:
Corey Sohmer
(908) 517-7330
csohmer@cyclacel.com
Posted: October 2012
