Arix Bioscience PLC (LON:ARIX) has hailed good news from one of its portfolio companies, Autolus (NASDAQ:AUTL), which has reported promising results from two trials of a cancer drug.
The drug, AUTO3, is a T-cell therapy which was tested on patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, to reduce the chance of a relapse.
Results from the trials were presented at the ongoing 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Florida, US.
In a statement, Autolus said the ALEXANDER study, a phase 1/2 trial on 16 patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, showed that the drug was well-tolerated in the safety phase 1 trial, and that five patients showed a complete response, with all cancer symptoms disappearing.
Meanwhile, the AMELIA study tested 11 patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and found the treatment was similarly well-tolerated, and that 9 of 10 patients (90%) who were CAR-T naïve achieved a complete response, with an estimated 100% survival rate at 12 months.
From this trial. Autolus said that there are two ongoing patients in complete molecular remission at 12 and 15 months post-AUTO3 infusion, respectively.
“The data from the AMELIA trial of AUTO3 in pediatric ALL has informed us on the encouraging role of dual antigen targeting in reducing target-negative relapses and delivering high levels of complete molecular remission with well-tolerated safety,” said Dr. Christian Itin, chairman and chief executive officer of Autolus.
“We look forward to advancing AUTO3 to a decision point in relapsed/refractory DLBCL by the mid-point of next year.”
Biotech companies backer Arix said that Autolus, in which its stake totalled 7.6% as of April, now plans to advance toward a pivotal clinical trial in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with initiation targeted for the first half of 2020.