Arvinas Inc.’s two cutting-edge cancer drugs are showing early signs of working in patients who have failed earlier treatments for stubborn forms of prostate and breast cancer.
The New Haven biotech founded by Yale scientist Dr. Craig Crews released interim data Monday from two early-stage clinical trials evaluating its two protein-degrader drugs, ARV-471 and ARV-110.
The news sent the company’s stock soaring to $68.64 on Monday morning, up from Friday’s close of $29.93. It was trading at $69.10 as of midmorning Tuesday.
ARV-471 is being tested on patients with locally advanced or metastatic ER positive/HER2 negative breast cancer. ARV-110 is being tested on patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
“The clinical benefits we’ve seen in both patient populations, including tumor shrinkage and low incidence of adverse effects, are compelling and reinforce our belief that our PROTAC protein degraders could dramatically change the lives of patients who have few or no therapeutic options,” said Arvinas CEO John Houston in a statement.
Arvinas’ drugs use PROTACs technology (short for proteolysis-targeting chimeras) developed by Crews to remove disease-causing proteins by harnessing the body’s own cellular trash-disposal system.
In the breast cancer trial, the interim data showed anti-tumor activity in five of 12 patients, three of whom saw their tumors shrink. One patient’s tumor shrunk by 51%, while two others experienced unconfirmed tumor shrinkage, Arvinas said.
The results were better than for treatment with the current standard treatment, fulvestrant, said Chief Medical Officer Ron Peck.
Arvinas said a trial studying the breast cancer drug in combination with the Pfizer treatment Ibrance is set to begin this month, while a Phase 2 trial will launch during the first half of 2021.
Meanwhile, in the prostate cancer trial, ARV-110 reduced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels by at least 50% in two of five patients with specific mutations of the androgen receptor (AR), according to Arvinas. Doctors measure PSA levels to screen for prostate cancer and determine if treatments are working.
The treatment also reduced PSA levels by at least 50% in two of 15 patients with normal ARs.
In both trials, Arvinas said the patients had failed a median of five previous treatments.
The seven-year-old company, based in Science Park, was believed to be the first to test a so-called protein degrader in humans when it brought the prostate cancer drug into the clinic in 2019, followed by the breast cancer drug a few months later.
The company’s work to date has attracted partnerships with big pharma players like Genentech, Pfizer and Bayer that are potentially worth hundreds of millions.
Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com
