Press release
Oncopeptides presents latest efficacy results of melflufen in combination with dexamethasone at ASH
Oncopeptides AB, a clinical stage company developing a peptidase potentiated therapy – melflufen – presented clinical results from an ongoing Phase 2 study in patients with relapsed and relapsed refractory multiple myeloma. The results, presented at the American Society of Hematology, in Orlando, Florida showed an overall response rate (partial response or better) of 41% and clinical benefit rate (minimal response or better) of 56% in efficacy evaluable patients. At the date of analysis, the median progression-free survival was 9.4 months. Melflufen showed promising activity in heavily pre-treated RRMM patients where conventional therapies have failed and rates were similar across the different patient refractory status groups (single, double and triple refractory patients).
The results are from a clinical trial being carried out across four centers in Europe (Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark) and two in the USA (Boston, MA and Chapel Hill, NC) and cover; Safety and tolerability, treatment and disposition, efficacy and baseline characteristics. The results support Oncopeptides’ belief that melflufen has the potential to provide an alternative when conventional therapies have failed in RRMM patients.
Melflufen is a peptidase-potentiated therapy and a potent antiangiogenic compound. It triggers rapid, robust, and irreversible DNA damage and exerts it cytotoxicity through alkylation of DNA. CEO, Jakob Lindberg commented “These trial results, of melflufen in combination with dexamethasone, are most encouraging and demonstrate a real benefit to late stage multiple myeloma patients. They show that melflufen has a meaningful effect on the disease, and has the potential to be a strong building block in the treatment algorithm of multiple myeloma. I am looking forward to building on these findings to take melflufen through to the next stage of the clinical program.”
The poster entitled ‘Efficacy of Melflufen, a Peptidase Potentiated Therapy, and Dexamethasone in an Ongoing Open-Label Phase 2 Study in Patients with Relapsed and Relapsed-Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM)’ can be downloaded here oncopeptides.se
Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematological cancer and worldwide more than 180,000 people are living with the disease, with approximately 86,000 new cases diagnosed annually (ref: International Agency for Research on Cancer).