Carlos Becerra M.D.

Sarantopoulos, J., S. Goel, V. Chung, P. Munster, S. Pant, M. R. Patel, J. Infante, H. Tawbi, C. Becerra, J. Bruce, F. Kabbinavar, A. C. Lockhart, E. Tan, S. Yang, G. Carlson, J. W. Scott and S. Sharma (2016). “Randomized phase 1 crossover study assessing the bioequivalence of capsule and tablet formulations of dovitinib (tki258) in patients with advanced solid tumors.” Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 78(5): 921-927.

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PURPOSE: A capsule formulation of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor dovitinib (TKI258) was recently studied in a phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial; however, tablets are the planned commercial formulation. Therefore, this randomized 2-way crossover study evaluated the bioequivalence of dovitinib tablet and capsule formulations in pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors, excluding breast cancer. METHODS: In this 2-part study, eligible patients received dovitinib 500 mg once daily on a 5-days-on/2-days-off schedule. During the 2-period bioequivalence phase, patients received their initial formulation (capsule or tablet) for 3 weeks before being switched to the alternative formulation in the second period. Patients could continue to receive dovitinib capsules on the same dosing schedule during the post-bioequivalence phase. RESULTS: A total of 173 patients were enrolled into the bioequivalence phase of the study (capsule –> tablet, n = 88; tablet –> capsule, n = 85), and 69 patients had evaluable pharmacokinetics (PK) for both periods. PK analyses showed similar exposure and PK profiles for the dovitinib capsule and tablet formulations and supported bioequivalence [geometric mean ratios: AUClast, 0.95 (90 % CI 0.88-1.01); C max, 0.98 (90 % CI 0.91-1.05)]. The most common adverse events, suspected to be study drug related, included diarrhea (60 %), nausea (53 %), fatigue (45 %), and vomiting (43 %). Of 168 patients evaluable for response, 1 achieved a partial response, and stable disease was observed in 32 % of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Dovitinib capsules and tablets were bioequivalent, with a safety profile similar to that observed in other dovitinib studies of patients with heavily pretreated advanced solid tumors.

Sarantopoulos, J., S. Goel, V. Chung, P. Munster, S. Pant, M. R. Patel, J. Infante, H. Tawbi, C. Becerra, J. Bruce, F. Kabbinavar, A. C. Lockhart, E. Tan, S. Yang, G. Carlson, J. W. Scott and S. Sharma (2016). “Randomized phase 1 crossover study assessing the bioequivalence of capsule and tablet formulations of dovitinib (tki258) in patients with advanced solid tumors.” Cancer Chemother Pharmacol: 2016 Sep [Epub ahead of print].

Full text of this article.

PURPOSE: A capsule formulation of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor dovitinib (TKI258) was recently studied in a phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial; however, tablets are the planned commercial formulation. Therefore, this randomized 2-way crossover study evaluated the bioequivalence of dovitinib tablet and capsule formulations in pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors, excluding breast cancer. METHODS: In this 2-part study, eligible patients received dovitinib 500 mg once daily on a 5-days-on/2-days-off schedule. During the 2-period bioequivalence phase, patients received their initial formulation (capsule or tablet) for 3 weeks before being switched to the alternative formulation in the second period. Patients could continue to receive dovitinib capsules on the same dosing schedule during the post-bioequivalence phase. RESULTS: A total of 173 patients were enrolled into the bioequivalence phase of the study (capsule –> tablet, n = 88; tablet –> capsule, n = 85), and 69 patients had evaluable pharmacokinetics (PK) for both periods. PK analyses showed similar exposure and PK profiles for the dovitinib capsule and tablet formulations and supported bioequivalence [geometric mean ratios: AUClast, 0.95 (90 % CI 0.88-1.01); C max, 0.98 (90 % CI 0.91-1.05)]. The most common adverse events, suspected to be study drug related, included diarrhea (60 %), nausea (53 %), fatigue (45 %), and vomiting (43 %). Of 168 patients evaluable for response, 1 achieved a partial response, and stable disease was observed in 32 % of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Dovitinib capsules and tablets were bioequivalent, with a safety profile similar to that observed in other dovitinib studies of patients with heavily pretreated advanced solid tumors.

Coveler, A. L., A. H. Ko, D. V. Catenacci, D. Von Hoff, C. Becerra, N. C. Whiting, J. Yang and B. Wolpin (2016). “A phase 1 clinical trial of asg-5me, a novel drug-antibody conjugate targeting slc44a4, in patients with advanced pancreatic and gastric cancers.” Invest New Drugs 34(3): 319-328.

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ASG-5ME is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting SLC44A4, a novel cell surface target expressed on most pancreatic and gastric cancers. This first-in-human study of ASG-5ME evaluated safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary activity of ASG-5ME in advanced pancreatic and gastric cancer patients. Experimental Design This phase 1, dose-escalation, multicenter study determined the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and assessed safety and antitumor activity. The dose-escalation portion enrolled metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients; gastric adenocarcinoma patients were included in the dose-expansion portion. Patients received ASG-5ME intravenously on Days 1, 8, and 15 of 28-day cycles. Results Thirty-five pancreatic cancer patients (median age 63 years; performance status 0 [40 %] or 1 [60 %]) were treated at doses of 0.3 to 1.5 mg/kg (median duration 8.1 weeks). The MTD was exceeded at 1.5 mg/kg (n = 7) with 1 dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of Grade 4 gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Four patients experienced non-DLT Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. Fifteen gastric cancer patients (median age 59 years; performance status 0 [33 %] or 1 [67 %]) were treated at the identified MTD of 1.2 mg/kg (median duration 8.7 weeks). Common drug-related adverse events included fatigue (29 %), nausea (23 %), and vomiting (23 %) for pancreatic cancer patients and fatigue (33 %) and decreased appetite (33 %) for gastric cancer patients. Best clinical response was 1 partial response in each cohort. Disease-control rates of 33 % (pancreatic) and 47 % (gastric) were observed at the MTD. All patient biopsies (23 pancreatic, 15 gastric) expressed the SLC44A4 antigen. Conclusions ASG-5ME treatment was generally well tolerated with limited evidence of antitumor activity.

Coveler, A. L., A. H. Ko, D. V. Catenacci, D. Von Hoff, C. Becerra, N. C. Whiting, J. Yang and B. Wolpin (2016). “A phase 1 clinical trial of ASG-5ME, a novel drug-antibody conjugate targeting SLC44A4, in patients with advanced pancreatic and gastric cancers.” Invest New Drugs Mar 18. [Epub ahead of print]

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Purpose ASG-5ME is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting SLC44A4, a novel cell surface target expressed on most pancreatic and gastric cancers. This first-in-human study of ASG-5ME evaluated safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary activity of ASG-5ME in advanced pancreatic and gastric cancer patients. Experimental Design This phase 1, dose-escalation, multicenter study determined the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and assessed safety and antitumor activity. The dose-escalation portion enrolled metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients; gastric adenocarcinoma patients were included in the dose-expansion portion. Patients received ASG-5ME intravenously on Days 1, 8, and 15 of 28-day cycles. Results Thirty-five pancreatic cancer patients (median age 63 years; performance status 0 [40 %] or 1 [60 %]) were treated at doses of 0.3 to 1.5 mg/kg (median duration 8.1 weeks). The MTD was exceeded at 1.5 mg/kg (n = 7) with 1 dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of Grade 4 gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Four patients experienced non-DLT Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. Fifteen gastric cancer patients (median age 59 years; performance status 0 [33 %] or 1 [67 %]) were treated at the identified MTD of 1.2 mg/kg (median duration 8.7 weeks). Common drug-related adverse events included fatigue (29 %), nausea (23 %), and vomiting (23 %) for pancreatic cancer patients and fatigue (33 %) and decreased appetite (33 %) for gastric cancer patients. Best clinical response was 1 partial response in each cohort. Disease-control rates of 33 % (pancreatic) and 47 % (gastric) were observed at the MTD. All patient biopsies (23 pancreatic, 15 gastric) expressed the SLC44A4 antigen. Conclusions ASG-5ME treatment was generally well tolerated with limited evidence of antitumor activity.

Adjei, A. A., D. Richards, A. B. El-Khoueiry, F. Braiteh, C. Becerra, J. Stephenson, A. F. Hezel, M. Sherman, L. E. Garbo, D. P. Leffingwell, C. Iverson, J. N. Miner, Z. Shen, L. T. Yeh, S. Gunawan, D. M. Wilson, K. J. Manhard, P. Rajagopalan, H. Krissel and N. J. Clendeninn (2015). “A Phase I Study of the Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of Combination Therapy with Refametinib plus Sorafenib in Patients with Advanced Cancer.” Clinical Cancer Research. 2015 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]

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PURPOSE: To assess the safety and tolerability of the small-molecule allosteric MEK inhibitor refametinib combined with sorafenib, in patients with advanced solid malignancies. METHODS: This phase I dose-escalation study included an expansion phase at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Patients received refametinib/sorafenib twice daily (BID) for 28 days, from a dose of refametinib 5 mg plus sorafenib 200 mg to a dose of refametinib 50 mg plus sorafenib 400 mg. Plasma levels of refametinib, refametinib metabolite M17, and sorafenib were measured for pharmacokinetic assessments. Tumors were biopsied at the MTD for analysis of MEK pathway mutations and ERK phosphorylation. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were enrolled in the dose-escalation cohort. The MTD was refametinib 50 mg BID plus sorafenib 400 mg BID. The most common treatment-related toxicities were diarrhea and fatigue. Refametinib was readily absorbed following oral administration (plasma half-life of ~16 hours at the MTD), and pharmacokinetic parameters displayed near-dose proportionality, with less than 2-fold accumulation after multiple dosing. Another 30 patients were enrolled in the MTD cohort; 19 had hepatocellular carcinoma. The combination was associated with significantly reduced ERK phosphorylation in 5 out of 6 patients biopsied, with the greatest reductions in those with KRAS or BRAF mutations. Disease was stabilized in approximately half of patients, and 1 patient with colorectal cancer achieved a partial response at the MTD lasting approximately 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: In this phase I study, refametinib plus sorafenib was well tolerated, with good oral absorption, near-dose proportionality, and target inhibition in a range of tumor types.