Janux Therapeutics on Monday announced positive updated clinical data for both of its clinical programs in prostate cancer advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
Pictured: Bullish money collage/ Nicole Bean for BioSpace
San Diego-based Janux Therapeutics announced on Monday positive efficacy and safety data from two Phase Ia trials for its candidates in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and late-stage solid tumors. The company’s stock jumped over 172% in Tuesday morning trading.
Janux provided positive updated clinical data for its candidates using its proprietary tumor-activated T-cell engager (TRACTr) platform. The candidates in question are JANX007, a TRACTr that targets PSMA and is in Phase Ia studies for treating advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, and JANX008, a TRACTr targeting EGFR which is also in Phase Ia and is going after late-stage solid tumors.
The JANX007 candidate had an “increasing depth” of PSA declines and RECIST responses at higher doses while keeping a favorable safety profile, according to Janux. The company reported that 100% of subjects had reached PSA declines at a starting step dose, while other reductions were achieved by a majority of patients at different doses.
Due to the safety profile, Janux is continuing the dose optimization for the candidate and will provide an update on dose expansion later this year.
The JANX008 candidate is being investigated in tumors such as colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma in the neck and head, renal cell carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The biotech said that “encouraging signs of clinical activity” were noticed while maintaining a good safety profile.
In one patient with NSCLC, a confirmed partial response was recorded with a 100% reduction of the target lung lesion being found and an elimination of liver metastasis. The patient is still on treatment and the response was maintained through a scan at week 18. No serious adverse events were reported.
“These clinical data show encouraging safety and efficacy with JANX007 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and with JANX008 in late-stage solid tumors. The clinical data provide compelling proof-of-concept for the TRACTr platform in a setting where many other approaches have failed due to material safety issues or lack of efficacy,” Janux CEO David Campbell said in a statement.
Other companies are also producing results for their T-cell engagers. Last year, Amgen posted upbeat results for its candidate tarlatamab in small-cell lung cancer patients showing an objective response rate of 40%.
Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
