1 June 2024
Medannex today revealed details of the ATTAINMENT study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
The Phase 1b oncology study is the first clinical evaluation of a therapy targeting annexin-A1, a new and unique cancer target. Although annexin-A1 is known to drive numerous cancers, autoimmune diseases and other conditions, it is difficult to target specifically due to its structural similarity to other proteins in the body.
Medannex has overcome this with MDX-124, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody specifically targeting annexin-A1. The novel agent has demonstrated multi-faceted anti-cancer activity in pre-clinical models of several difficult to treat cancers, including pancreas, triple-negative breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, gastric and cholangiocarcinoma. It has also shown significant synergy with various commonly used chemotherapies, as well as a benign safety profile in toxicology studies.
The first patient in the ATTAINMENT study was treated with MDX-124 in August 2023. Cohorts at 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg have now been completed, with no dose limiting toxicities observed.
Once the optimum dose has been established, MDX-124 will be evaluated in newly-diagnosed cancer patients, in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapies. The study’s innovative modular design allows the efficacy of MDX-124 to be evaluated in different tumour types in an efficient manner, as clinical data emerges.
Chief Investigator, Professor Daniel Palmer of the Liverpool Clinical Trial Centre, said: ‘I’m delighted to be leading the ATTAINMENT study, exploring a novel approach which could significantly improve treatment options for various clinically-challenging cancers. The study is progressing very well, with no toxicity concerns and rapid progression through dose escalation, and we eagerly await the results.’
Patients are also being enrolled by Professor Sarah Blagden at the Early Phase Trials Unit, University of Oxford and Dr. Stefan Symeonides at the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre.
Medannex CEO Ian Abercrombie said: ‘It’s always exciting when a new class of medicine enters the clinic and we’re thrilled to share our innovative modular study design at the world’s largest oncology meeting. We’re confident that MDX-124 will make a real difference to patients and their families and we look forward to evaluating its efficacy in front line therapy.’