UPDATE: Galectin Therapeutics Supports Investigational New Drug Application for its Galectin Inhibitor GR-MD-02 in Metastatic Melanoma

Galectin Therapeutics GALT today announced that Providence Portland Medical Center filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 27, 2013 to study GR-MD-02 in combination with Yervoy® (ipilimumab) in a Phase 1B study of patients with metastatic melanoma. GR-MD-02 is Galectin Therapeutics' proprietary molecule that binds to and inhibits galectin proteins, predominantly galectin-3. The application was prompted by findings from a preclinical study led by tumor immunology expert William L. Redmond, Ph.D., of the Providence Portland Medical Center's Earle A. Chiles Research Institute (EACRI). The preclinical study found that GR-MD-02 increased tumor shrinkage and enhanced survival in immune competent mice with prostate and breast cancers when combined with one of the immune checkpoint inhibitors, anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1. These findings suggest a role for GR-MD-02 in cancer immunotherapy. “The IND filing to study GR-MD-02 in conjunctive use with Yervoy in patients with metastatic melanoma is an important milestone for both Providence Portland Medical Center and Galectin Therapeutics,” said Dr. Peter G. Traber, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Galectin Therapeutics. “Preclinical data have shown that GR-MD-02 holds immense potential for increasing the effectiveness of other therapies and may be an important approach in enhancing cancer immunotherapy.” If the application is approved by the FDA, the Phase 1B study will be conducted by the EACRI under principal investigator Brendan D. Curti, M.D. EACRI and Providence Cancer Center researchers have been leaders in immunotherapy research and translational clinical trials in melanoma and other cancers. “The Phase 1B study will determine if GR-MD-02 enhances the probability of melanoma response with ipilimumab by inducing proliferation, activation and memory function of CD8+ T cells,” said Dr. Curti, the trial's principal investigator, a medical oncologist and director of the Providence Biotherapy Program at EACRI. “The combination of GR-MD-02 and ipilimumab has a strong scientific rationale based on Dr. Redmond's laboratory work. This study represents a novel approach for patients with metastatic melanoma.” The study will employ a 3+3 Phase 1 design with dose escalation of GR-MD-02 in conjunction with the standard therapeutic dose of ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma for whom ipilimumab would be considered standard of care. In addition to monitoring for toxicity and clinical response, blood samples will be obtained to assess immunologic measures relevant to galectin biology and ipilimumab T-cell check-point inhibition. Galectin Therapeutics will provide its proprietary compound GR-MD-02 to EACRI researchers, as well as supply researchers with supporting analysis of the pharmacokinetics of GR-MD-02 and the right to reference the Company's open IND on GR-MD-02. Separately, the Cancer Centre at the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), in agreement with Galectin Therapeutics, placed on hold its Phase 1/2 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of another galectin inhibitor, GM-CT-01, in combination with an experimental peptide vaccine for the treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma. Dr. Jean-Francois Baurain, the trial's principal investigator, medical oncologist and director of the melanoma clinic of the Cancer Center at CUSL, said, “The trial was unable to enroll sufficient patients with advanced stage melanoma due to the high selection criteria of patient candidates for the peptide vaccine and the recent availability of Yervoy in Europe as a treatment increasing the overall survival of metastatic melanoma patients.” A total of three patients completed the trial with no serious adverse events attributed to drug treatment and with two patients having a mixed response and one having progressive disease.