Date: 2017-01-31
Type of information: Clinical research agreement
Compound: radiotherapy, DNA repair inhibitors and immunotherapy
Company: Onxeo (France) Institut Curie (France)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: clinical research
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On January 31, 2017, Onxeo and the Institut Curie, a public-interest foundation heading one of Europe’s largest cancer research centers and two leading edge hospitals, join forces on World Cancer Day to launch a series of studies aimed at investigating the benefits of combining radiotherapy, DNA repair inhibitors and immunotherapy. As the birthplace of radiotherapy and the first French institute to build a large cancer immunotherapy center, the Institut Curie is naturally investing in this new and particularly promising field of clinical research. In 2016, Onxeo, a French biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of new treatments for orphan cancers, acquired AsiDNA™, a signal-interfering, DNA-repair-pathway inhibitor based on the DBait technology, which was notably discovered by the Institut Curie. Both organizations are now strengthening their partnership to carry out an ambitious project. A number of ongoing studies (more than 200[1]) that combine radiotherapy and immunotherapy are currently evaluating the effectiveness of this combination in the treatment of various metastatic or advanced cancers such as lung, esophagus, brain and prostate cancers, as well as melanoma, leukemia and sarcoma. As an example, recent trials have demonstrated the benefits of combining radiotherapy with ipilimumab (PD1-targeted immunotherapy) in metastatic melanoma: Increased survival and complete responses were observed in patients who received this double treatment. The Institut Curie wants to add a new dimension to Marie Curie’s most valuable legacy: radiotherapy. The institute located in Orsay specializes in the development of radiotherapy with the aim of developing new and particularly innovative combinations with immunotherapy. Despite impressive results against some tumors, 80% of patients do not respond to these new therapeutic strategies, the most advanced of which are PD1 and PDL1 inhibitors. The limitations in the efficiency of the new immunotherapies seem related to DNA alterations and, most likely, to the tumor’s capacity to repair its lesions, even if only in a residual way. The combination of radiotherapy and Dbait agents has already shown very promising results in humans. The DRIM clinical study[2], performed in patients with skin metastases from melanoma, demonstrated that AsiDNA™ (the clinical form of Dbait) was well tolerated by patients when administered locally, with complete response rates (disappearance of tumor nodules) 4 times higher than those observed with radiotherapy alone. With Onxeo’s team, doctors and researchers from the Institut Curie will combine their expertise to evaluate the combination of immunotherapy with radiotherapy and AsiDNA. In addition, to boost the development of and research on this innovative therapeutic combination, the Institut Curie will welcome a renowned addition: Professor Head of department of Radiation Oncology at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen (Netherlands) and Professor at Radboud University. He will head the Department of Radiotherapy at the Institut Curie, starting from March 2017, and will bring his preclinical and clinical expertise to this project in order to validate this new therapeutic approach, for the benefit of patients.
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