CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ: AVEO) and Biodesix, Inc. today announced the initiation of the CyFi-2 study, a randomized Phase 2 clinical study evaluating ficlatuzumab, AVEO’s potent hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) inhibitory antibody product candidate, in combination with high-dose cytarabine vs. high-dose cytarabine alone in patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
AVEO will sponsor the CyFi-2 study, which is expected to enroll up to a total of 60 patients with AML who failed induction chemotherapy or who achieved a complete response, but relapsed within one year. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive either ficlatuzumab in combination with cytarabine or cytarabine alone at the doses and schedules determined in the Phase 1b/2 single-arm CyFi-1 study. CyFi-2’s primary endpoint is complete response rate, with secondary endpoints including safety, disease-free survival, and overall survival. The CyFi-2 study is being conducted as part of the companies’ worldwide partnership to develop and commercialize ficlatuzumab. Under the terms of this agreement, AVEO and Biodesix equally share all development costs.
“Supported by promising Phase 1b/2 results from the CyFi-1 study, which showed a 50% complete response rate in primary refractory AML patients (n=18) and an acceptable tolerability profile, the ficlatuzumab-cytarabine combination has the potential to improve outcomes in this historically difficult to treat population,” said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. “The CyFi-2 study, along with our ongoing randomized Phase 2 study in head and neck cancer, provide two opportunities to potentially pursue registration strategies for ficlatuzumab, assuming favorable study outcomes.”
AVEO’s portion of the costs for both the CyFi-2 study and the recently initiated Phase 1b/2 hepatocellular carcinoma study of FOTIVDA® (tivozanib) in combination with AstraZeneca’s IMFINZI® (durvalumab) is included in the company’s current cash guidance.
“Ficlatuzumab targets an important pathway which we believe has major clinical significance. We look forward to working with AVEO to enable ficlatuzumab to realize its full potential,” said David Brunel, chief executive officer of Biodesix. “At Biodesix, we are committed to supporting biomarker development initiatives to further identify patients who may benefit most from promising therapies.”
About Ficlatuzumab
Ficlatuzumab (formerly known as AV-299) is a potent hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) inhibitory antibody that binds to the HGF ligand with high affinity and specificity to inhibit HGF/c-Met biological activities. AVEO and Biodesix, Inc. have a worldwide agreement to develop and commercialize ficlatuzumab. Ficlatuzumab is currently being evaluated in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), metastatic pancreatic ductal cancer (PDAC), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
About AVEO
AVEO Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to advance targeted medicines for oncology and other unmet medical needs. The Company’s lead candidate is tivozanib, a potent, selective, long half-life inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor 1, 2 and 3 receptors, which AVEO is working to develop and commercialize in North America as a treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other cancers. Tivozanib (FOTIVDA®) is approved by the European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC in the European Union plus Norway, New Zealand, and Iceland. AVEO is leveraging or seeks to leverage partnerships to develop and commercialize its pipeline of products and product candidates, including tivozanib in oncology and other indications in various geographies, and ficlatuzumab (HGF MAb) in head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. AVEO’s earlier-stage pipeline includes AV-203 (anti-ErbB3 MAb), AV-380 (GDF15 MAb) and AV-353 (Notch 3 MAb) for various oncology indications.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.aveooncology.com.
About Biodesix
Biodesix is a lung cancer diagnostic solutions company addressing the continuum of patient care from early diagnosis of lung nodules through late stage cancer. The company develops diagnostic tests addressing important clinical questions by combining simple blood draws and multi-omics with the power of artificial intelligence. Biodesix is the first company to offer three best-in class tests for patients with lung cancer, and multiple pipeline tests including one with the potential to identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapies. The Biodesix Lung Reflex® strategy integrates the GeneStrat® and VeriStrat® tests to support treatment decisions with results in 72 hours. The Nodify XL2™ nodule test evaluates the risk of malignancy, enabling physicians to triage patients to the most appropriate course of action. Biodesix also partners with the world’s leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to solve complex diagnostic challenges. For more information about Biodesix, please visit www.biodesix.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements of AVEO within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “seek,” “look forward,” “advance,” “goal,” “strategy,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about: the advancement of AVEO’s pipeline, including AVEO’s plans with respect to advancement of the CyFi-2 study; the potential efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ficlatuzumab, both as a stand-alone drug candidate and in combination with other therapies; the potential for outcomes from studies of ficlatuzumab to provide AVEO with opportunities to pursue regulatory strategies; the potential efficacy, safety, and tolerability of tivozanib, as a single agent and in combination with other therapies in several indications, such as RCC and HCC; expected costs of AVEO’s clinical studies; AVEO’s cash runway; AVEO’s plans and strategies for commercialization of tivozanib in the United States and Europe; and AVEO’s strategy, prospects, plans and objectives for its product candidates and for the Company generally. AVEO has based its expectations and estimates on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these expectations and estimates. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that AVEO makes due to a number of important factors, including risks relating to: AVEO’s ability, and the ability of its licensees, to demonstrate to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory agencies such as the FDA the safety, efficacy and clinically meaningful benefit of AVEO’s product candidates, including, in particular, tivozanib and ficlatuzumab; AVEO’s ability to successfully file an NDA for tivozanib; and AVEO’s ability to enter into and maintain its third party collaboration and license agreements, and its ability, and the ability of its strategic partners, to achieve development and commercialization objectives under these arrangements. AVEO faces other risks relating to its business as well, including risks relating to the timing and costs of seeking and obtaining regulatory approval; AVEO’s and its collaborators’ ability to successfully enroll and complete clinical trials; AVEO’s ability to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to obtain and maintain adequate protection for intellectual property rights relating to its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to successfully implement its strategic plans; AVEO’s ability to raise the substantial additional funds required to achieve its goals, including those goals pertaining to the development and commercialization of tivozanib; unplanned capital requirements; adverse general economic and industry conditions; competitive factors; and those risks discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” included in AVEO’s quarterly and annual reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that AVEO makes with the SEC. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent AVEO’s views as of the date of this press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change. While AVEO may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing AVEO’s views as of any date other than the date of this press release. Any reference to AVEO’s website address in this press release is intended to be an inactive textual reference only and not an active hyperlink.
Contacts
AVEO:
David Pitts, Argot Partners
(212) 600-1902
aveo@argotpartners.com
Biodesix:
Kena Hudson
Kena@HudBio.com
(510) 908-0966