Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) and Millennium Pharmaceuticals,
Inc.: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced that they have
initiated a phase I clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) in
combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed
Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Brentuximab vedotin is an antibody-drug
conjugate (ADC) that is also in single-agent clinical trials, including
a pivotal trial for relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and a phase
II trial for systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. The target for
brentuximab vedotin is CD30, which is expressed on these hematologic
malignancies. The phase I combination trial will evaluate brentuximab
vedotin plus Adriamycin (doxorubicin), bleomycin, vinblastine and
dacarbazine (ABVD), a commonly used front-line chemotherapy regimen for
Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Millennium and Seattle Genetics have a shared goal to
develop innovative new medicines where there is an unmet need for
patients.”
“We believe this is an important first step in our investigation of
brentuximab vedotin in earlier stage Hodgkin lymphoma patients, towards
our ultimate goal of determining the potential of brentuximab vedotin to
improve patient outcomes,” said Thomas C. Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Medical Officer of Seattle Genetics. “In preclinical studies, including
in models with high tumor burden, our data demonstrate that brentuximab
vedotin combined with ABVD results in improved antitumor activity
compared to ABVD alone, providing a foundation on which to explore this
combination in the clinical setting.”
“Millennium is pleased to be collaborating with Seattle Genetics on
brentuximab vedotin, and we are excited about this molecule’s potential
in Hodgkin lymphoma,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
at Millennium. “Millennium and Seattle Genetics have a shared goal to
develop innovative new medicines where there is an unmet need for
patients.”
The phase I dose-escalation trial will evaluate the safety of combining
brentuximab vedotin and ABVD, as well as assess pharmacokinetics and the
antitumor activity of the combination. The study is expected to enroll
approximately 40 patients at multiple centers in the United States and
Canada.