OncoMed Pharmaceuticals highlights new data for vantictumab at ASCO meeting

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today highlighted new data for vantictumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the Wnt pathway, at a poster session at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, IL. Vantictumab is a first-in-class antibody that has broad anti-cancer stem cell and anti-tumor activity in patient-derived xenograft tumor models. The presentation at ASCO (Abstract 2540), entitled 'First-in-human evaluation of the human monoclonal antibody vantictumab (OMP-18R5; anti-Frizzled) targeting the Wnt pathway in a Phase I study for patients with advanced solid tumors,' was the first clinical presentation of this novel agent. Dr. David Smith (University of Michigan Cancer Center at Ann Arbor, MI) presented the data on behalf of the other principal investigators (Dr. Lee Rosen at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, and Dr. Kyriakos Papadopoulos at The START Center for Cancer Care, San Antonio, TX) and the entire study team.

“We are encouraged by both the preclinical and clinical data for vantictumab which highlights the potential of targeting the Wnt pathway in cancer and particularly in cancer stem cells”

In the ongoing trial of 24 patients, vantictumab was generally well tolerated up to the current dose of 10 mg/kg every three weeks. A bone protection strategy has been successful in ensuring bone health. Pharmacodynamic effects of vantictumab on the Wnt pathway in patient samples have been noted. Three patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NET) experienced prolonged stable disease for 110, 316+, and 385+ days. Based on these data, OncoMed has advanced vantictumab into three Phase 1b trials in specific tumor indications to study its safety in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy. These trials will initiate in 2013. Vantictumab is part of OncoMed's Wnt pathway collaboration with Bayer HealthCare.

"We are encouraged by both the preclinical and clinical data for vantictumab which highlights the potential of targeting the Wnt pathway in cancer and particularly in cancer stem cells," noted Paul Hastings, Chief Executive Officer of OncoMed. "We have made excellent progress with vantictumab and our other clinical program targeting the Wnt pathway, Fzd8-Fc (OMP-54F28). "We look forward to initiating more advanced stage clinical trials of vantictumab later this year. With ongoing clinical trials with five novel drug candidates in two key pathways, Notch and Wnt, OncoMed is leading the way in the development of anti-cancer stem cell therapies."

SOURCE OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.