8 February 2021
BerGenBio ASA: SECOND DATA MONITORING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CONTINUATION OF BERGENBIO’S BGBC020 TRIAL ASSESSING BEMCENTINIB IN COVID-19 PATIENTS
Bergen, Norway, 8[th ]February 2021 – BerGenBio ASA (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for severe unmet medical need, provides an update on the Company sponsored Phase II clinical trial (BGBC020), assessing the efficacy and safety of bemcentinib for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in South Africa and India, following the second meeting of the trial’s independent Data Monitoring Committee (iDMC).
The iDMC, formed from a group of independent infectious disease clinical experts external to the study, maintained its recommendation that the trial should continue as planned with no changes, as no safety concerns were raised from the available data. The iDMC will continue to assess the safety data and critical efficacy endpoints of the trial, as it progresses.
The Phase II BGBC020 study will recruit 120 hospitalised COVID-19 patients across five sites in South Africa and seven sites in India. 60 patients will receive bemcentinib (as monotherapy or in combination with standard of care treatment) and 60 patients in a control group (receiving standard of care treatment only).
The primary endpoint of the trial will be time to clinical improvement of at least two points (from randomisation) on a nine-point ordinal scale, or live discharge from the hospital, whichever comes first. The trial protocol will permit co-administration with other medicines recommended for treatment of COVID -19, including remdesivir and dexamethasone.
Richard Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: “We continue to have confidence in the favourable safety profile of bemcentinib, and are pleased that the iDMC continues to recommend the continuation of the BGBC020 trial. We look forward to recording further data. We are hopeful that bemcentinib can play a role in the global effort to find an effective treatment option for hospitalised COVID-19 patients, particularly as we continue to see an increase in incidence of the virus in many areas of the world.”
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About AXL
AXL kinase is a cell membrane receptor and an essential mediator of the
biological mechanisms underlying life-threatening diseases. In cancer, AXL suppresses the body’s immune response to tumours and drives cancer treatment failure across many indications. AXL expression defines a very poor prognosis subgroup in most cancers. AXL inhibitors, therefore, have potential high value at the centre of cancer combination therapy, addressing significant unmet medical needs and multiple high-value market opportunities. Research has also shown that AXL mediates other aggressive diseases.
About Bemcentinib
Bemcentinib (formerly known as BGB324), is a potentially first-in-class
selective AXL inhibitor in a broad phase II clinical development programme. Ongoing clinical trials are investigating bemcentinib in multiple solid and haematological tumours, in combination with current and emerging therapies (including immunotherapies, targeted therapies and chemotherapy), and as a single agent. Bemcentinib targets and binds to the intracellular catalytic kinase domain of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase and inhibits its activity. Increase in AXL function has been linked to key mechanisms of drug resistance and immune escape by tumour cells, leading to aggressive metastatic cancers.
About BerGenBio ASA
BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including immune-evasive, therapy resistant cancers. The company’s proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, is a potentially first-in -class selective AXL inhibitor in a broad phase II oncology clinical development programme focused on combination and single agent therapy in lung cancer, leukaemia and COVID-19. A first-in-class functional blocking anti-AXL antibody, tilvestamab, is undergoing phase I clinical testing. In parallel, BerGenBio is developing companion diagnostic tests to identify patient populations most likely to benefit from bemcentinib: this is expected to facilitate more efficient registration trials supporting a precision medicine-based commercialisation strategy.
BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com
Contacts
Richard Godfrey CEO, BerGenBio ASA
+47 917 86 304
Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
+47 917 86 513
International Media Relations
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Welsh, Lucy Featherstone, Carina Jurs
Consilium Strategic Communications
bergenbio@consilium-comms.com
+44 20 3709 5700
Media Relations in Norway
Jan Petter Stiff, Crux Advisers
stiff@crux.no
+47 995 13 891
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
About Oncoinvent
Oncoinvent is developing Radspherin®, a receptor-independent alpha radiation therapy that leverages the unique anatomy of the abdominal cavity to destroy residual micrometastases using a single, highly localized dose of alpha radiation. The initial clinical focus is treatment of ovarian and colorectal cancer patients after surgical removal of the primary tumor and visible metastases in the peritoneum, the thin membrane lining the abdominal cavity and covering the abdominal organs.
This radiopharmaceutical is designed to prevent or delay recurrence in the peritoneal cavity, keeping patients disease-free for longer than the current standard of care and thereby also impacting overall survival. It is broadly applicable to any cancer that spreads to the peritoneum, e.g. ovarian, colorectal, and gastric cancers. Radspherin® stands out for its simplicity, excellent safety profile, and seamless integration into existing surgical workflows. Oncoinvent’s product is easy to use, avoids systemic delivery and significant toxicity. It is also differentiated in being simple to manufacture, scalable, and supply de-risked.
Data from two trials in ovarian (phase 1) and colorectal (phase 1/2a) cancers, are highly promising, showing an excellent safety profile and meaningful signals of efficacy. Interim data from an ongoing, randomized, controlled phase 2 ovarian cancer trial is expected in 2026. With cost-effective manufacturing, blockbuster potential, active pharma partnership momentum, plus strong endorsements from leading experts, Oncoinvent is built for scale and commercial success, and is set to become the new standard for post-surgical cancer care. The Company was founded by the originators of Algeta and Xofigo (acquired by Bayer).
