Biomedical company Polaris Group (北極星) yesterday said that it would continue developing its cancer treatment ADI-PEG 20, but with a new approach, following a setback in a clinical trial.
A phase III study of the effectiveness of ADI-PEG 20 as a second-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) failed to demonstrate overall survival (OS) benefits, the company said in a statement on June 6.
The study showed that median OS was 7.8 months for patients receiving ADI-PEG 20, which was not significantly better than the 7.4 months for patients given a placebo.
Polaris Group chief executive officer Wu Bor-wen (吳伯文) told an investors’ conference that despite the setback, the company has formed a solid plan moving forward from the clinical trial.
ADI-PEG 20 is arginine deiminase (ADI) formulated with polyethylene glycol, with an average molecular weight of 20 kilodaltons (PEG 20), and the treatment is designed to degrade arginine, an amino acid crucial to tumor cell metabolism and the growth of certain cancers, Wu said.
An analysis of the clinical trial data showed that patients with arginine depletion for seven weeks or longer had a median OS of 12.5 months, compared with 6.3 months for patients with arginine depletion of less than seven weeks, Wu said.
“This outcome shows that the treatment is effective against cancer, as arginine-starved cancer cells are unable to survive and grow,” Wu said.
In addition, Wu said the study showed that ADI-PEG 20 was more beneficial for patients who have never had prior treatment with Nexarvar, a sorafenib-based drug for treating diseases including kidney and liver cancer, and thyroid carcinoma.
For some patients, prior treatment with Nexarvar reduced the arginine deprivation ability of ADI-PEG 20, and the company’s new treatment might be more effective as a first-line treatment, Wu said.
Nexarvar induces argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) expression, an enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of argininosuccinate from citrulline and aspartate, which makes ADI-PEG 20 ineffective as a monotherapy option, Wu said.
The company said it would explore alternative roles for ADI-PEG 20, such as using the treatment as a component of combination therapy as a first-line treatment, as well as using higher dosages to promote longer arginine depletion, Wu said.
Wu added that in March, the firm began a number of clinical trials for ADI-PEG 20 on treating mesothelioma of the lungs and pancreatic cancer, and that regulatory approval for one of the indications might come in about 2018.
To obtain market approval, the company is to file biologics license applications with regulators, and expand its sales potential by testing more ASS-deficient tumors in trials, Wu said.
Combination research is becoming more common in new cancer drug development, but testing each combination candidate would require a tremendous amount of time, Polaris Group medical affairs executive vice president John Bomalaski said.
The company will also improve patient selection so that those who are more likely to benefit from ADI-PEG 20 are included in future clinical trials, Bomalaski said.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS