- Continued expansion and advancement of product candidates
- Portfolio update planned for upcoming R&D Day on December 13, 2016
ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 02, 2016 (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, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, today provided a corporate progress update and reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.
"MacroGenics continues to make progress across its broad pipeline of clinical compounds, including margetuximab, our Fc-optimized anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, our two clinical programs targeting B7-H3 as well as several bispecific product candidates based on our DART
® platform," said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. "During the third quarter, an IND for MGA012 cleared the FDA and we remain on track to submit two DART molecule INDs in 2017, which would result in a total of eight DART molecules in clinical development. We look forward to providing an update on multiple clinical and preclinical programs at our R&D Day on December 13."
Pipeline Update Margetuximab. Recent highlights related to the Company's Fc-optimized monoclonal antibody that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, include:
- SOPHIA Study: MacroGenics' Phase 3 pivotal study in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer is ongoing, as the Company continues to initiate sites and enroll patients. This study is evaluating the efficacy of margetuximab plus chemotherapy compared to trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in approximately 530 relapsed/refractory patients. Approximately 90% of the anticipated study sites have been activated as of September 30, 2016.
- Phase 1b/2 Gastric Cancer Study: MacroGenics continues to recruit and dose patients in a clinical trial of margetuximab in combination with pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 therapy, in patients with advanced HER2-positive gastric cancer. Treatment options for these patients are limited and the combination regimen being explored avoids chemotherapy while exploiting the potential for enhancing the antitumor immune response. This trial is being conducted in collaboration with Merck and is currently recruiting patients in North America. We anticipate the start of this study in Asia by year-end.
B7-H3 Franchise. MacroGenics is developing a portfolio of therapeutics that target B7-H3, a member of the B7 family of molecules involved in immune regulation. The Company is advancing multiple programs that target B7-H3 through complementary mechanisms of action and take advantage of this antigen's broad expression across multiple solid tumor types. Current ongoing clinical-stage development programs include:
- Enoblituzumab: The Company continues to recruit patients in three ongoing studies of enoblituzumab, an Fc-optimized monoclonal antibody that targets B7-H3. These studies include one monotherapy study and two combination studies with each of ipilimumab and pembrolizumab. As previously reported, the monotherapy study was expanded to include additional prostate and bladder cancer cohorts. An additional monotherapy study is planned for children with neuroblastoma and other tumors, and we also anticipate an investigator-sponsored monotherapy study in neo-adjuvant prostate cancer.
- MGD009: This DART molecule targeting B7-H3 and CD3 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 study across multiple solid tumor types.
DART Product Candidates. There are currently six DART molecules in Phase 1 clinical development, including MGD006 (CD123 x CD3, also known as S80880), MGD007 (gpA33 x CD3), MGD009 (B7-H3 x CD3), MGD010 (CD32B x CD79B), MGD011 (CD19 x CD3, also known as JNJ-64052781 or duvortuxizumab) and PF-06671008 (P-cadherin x CD3).
During the third quarter and as previously reported, MacroGenics and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced the conclusion of their License and Option Agreement for MGD010, a bispecific molecule targeting CD32B and CD79B. MacroGenics regained the worldwide rights to MGD010, for which the Company plans to continue to advance development based on the encouraging study results reported to date.
