Incendia Therapeutics Announces Upcoming Presentations at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2023

The company will present data on the expression of discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) mRNA and protein across 20 tumor types and will provide a detailed overview of Incendia’s Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial for its lead candidate PRTH-101 in patients with advanced solid tumors (NCT05753722).

“The tumor microenvironment is dramatically impacted by the over expression of DDR1 and its role in the alignment of collagen fibers, which ultimately prevents immune cells from being able to directly interact with tumors,” said Laura Dillon, Vice President of Translational Medicine and Bioinformatics at Incendia. “These data presented at ESMO further highlight the potential of PRTH-101 as a first-in-class DDR1 inhibitor that may address the unmet need in the numerous cancers with high DDR1 expression.”

Presentation Details:
Title: High DDR1 mRNA and Protein Expression Across Human Tumor Types Correlate with Epithelial Composition of the Tumor Microenvironment
Lead author: Laura Dillon, Ph.D., Vice President, Translational Medicine and Bioinformatics at Incendia Therapeutics
Presentation #: 2309P
Presentation Time: Saturday, October 21, 12:00 - 1:00 PM CEST (6-7 AM ET) Translational Research (agnostic)

Key Highlights:

DDR1 is expressed in a high proportion of tumor cells across a range of epithelial tumor types, suggesting potentially broad application of DDR1-targeted therapies. A high proportion of tumor cells (median of 0.76) expressed DDR1 across all epithelial tumor types. DDR1 expression was uniformly low in mesenchymal tumors (median of 9 cells/mm²) compared to epithelial tumors (median of 2803 cells/mm²). Moderate correlation was observed between DDR1 mRNA expression and DDR1+ cell density across tumor types (R=0.48, p<0.0001). In epithelial tumors, both DDR1 mRNA and protein expression were correlated with the percentage of epithelium (R=0.37 and 0.56, respectively; both p<0.0001), with significant variance between tumor types.

Title: A Phase 1 First-in-Human Study of PRTH-101, an IgG1 Monoclonal Antibody Targeting DDR1, as a Monotherapy and Combined with Pembrolizumab in Patients with Advanced Solid Malignancies
Lead author: Shiraj Sen, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Oncologist and Director of NEXT Oncology Dallas
Presentation #: 1079TiP
Presentation Time: Monday, October 23, 12:00 – 1:00 PM CEST (6-7 AM ET) (Investigational immunotherapy)

Key Highlights:

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a collagen receptor that represents a promising therapeutic target due to its role in excluding lymphocytes from the tumor microenvironment (TME) by aligning collagen fibers. DDR1 expression is high in multiple cancer types and associated with worse survival. PRTH-101 is a humanized IgG1 antibody that binds to the extracellular domain of both membrane-bound and soluble DDR1. In preclinical models, PRTH-101 monotherapy resulted in disruption of aligned collagen fibers in the tumor stroma, increased infiltration of lymphocytes, and tumor growth inhibition. When PRTH-101 is combined with PD-1 inhibition, activated T cell infiltration is increased compared to PRTH-101 alone.

• This is a Phase 1 first-in-human study that will evaluate intravenous PRTH-101 +/- pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors. Safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic endpoints will be monitored and reported.
• The first part of the study (Ph1a) seeks to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or optimal biologic dose (OBD), of PRTH-101 to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D).
• The second part (Ph1b) seeks to identify the MTD or OBD of PRTH-101 in combination with pembrolizumab to determine the PRTH-101 combination RP2D.
• The third part (Ph1c) consists of dose expansion in disease-directed cohorts to assess the anti-tumor efficacy of PRTH-101 monotherapy and/or combination therapy.

About PRTH-101

PRTH-101 is a therapeutic antibody that specifically binds to and blocks discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1,) a protein expressed on tumor cells that binds collagen to make a physical barrier that prevents immune cells from interacting with and attacking tumor cells. By disabling DDR1, the collagen fibers lose alignment and loosen, creating gaps in the tumor barrier, thus allowing T-cells to enter and attack the tumor. Blockade of DDR1 represents a unique approach to stimulating immune-based antitumor activity, and in preclinical models such blockade shows both single agent anti-tumor activity as well as marked augmentation of immunity enhanced by PD-1 blockade. Tumor types that express high levels of DDR1-associated collagen barriers include colorectal, ovarian, and non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, there are no approved drugs that target DDR1.

About Incendia Therapeutics

Incendia Therapeutics is discovering and developing a novel class of anti-cancer therapies that reprogram the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent research has shown that the interplay between tumor cells and their surrounding TME results in the creation of barriers that markedly attenuate the immune system’s ability to attack the tumor. Based on rigorous, groundbreaking research, Incendia is developing a portfolio of drug candidates to treat select patients at the appropriate/ideal stage in disease progression. For more information visit incendia.com and LinkedIn.

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