Seattle Genetics, Inc. has announced dosing of the first patient in the phase 2 innovaTV 204 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of tisotumab vedotin as monotherapy for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer who have relapsed or progressed after standard of care treatment. Tisotumab vedotin is being developed in collaboration with Genmab A/S. The innovaTV 204 trial is intended to support potential registration under the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) accelerated approval regulations. Tisotumab vedotin is an investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designed to target Tissue Factor antigen on cancer cell surfaces and deliver the cell-killing agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) directly inside cancer cells. The Tissue Factor antigen target is overexpressed in the vast majority of patients with cervical cancer and in many other solid tumors, including ovarian, lung, pancreatic, colorectal and head and neck.

"While significant advances have been made in the treatment and prevention of cervical cancer, there remains a need for targeted agents that are effective for patients who progress or relapse after standard treatments," said Robert Coleman, M.D., FACOG, FACS, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX and principal investigator of the innovaTV 204 trial. "In a prior study, tisotumab vedotin demonstrated encouraging results in previously treated recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer, an area of unmet need where there is no established standard of care and response rates are limited."

"With the initiation of this phase 2 study of tisotumab vedotin for women with previously treated recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer, we now have four late-stage development programs on registrational pathways to achieve our goal of becoming a global, multi-product oncology company," said Roger Dansey, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Seattle Genetics. "In addition, we plan to evaluate tisotumab vedotin in collaboration with Genmab in other solid tumors where there remains an unmet medical need for new treatment options."

The phase 2 innovaTV 204 study (also known as GCT1015-04) is a global, multicenter, single arm trial that will enroll approximately 100 patients with recurrent and/or metastatic (2nd and 3rd line) cervical cancer who progressed on or relapsed after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy used alone or in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin). Patients will be treated with single-agent tisotumab vedotin every three weeks. The primary endpoint of the trial is objective response rate as assessed by independent review. Key secondary endpoints include duration of response, progression-free survival, overall survival, safety and tolerability.

The companies also plan to evaluate tisotumab vedotin in multiple solid tumors in a phase 2 trial this year.

Cervical cancer originates in the cells lining the cervix, which connects the uterus to the birth canal. About 13,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with cervical cancer in the US in 2018, with an estimated 4,000 deaths.1 Globally, cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death in women globally, with over 260,000 women dying annually; the vast majority of these women being in the developing world.2 Routine medical examinations and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine have lowered the incidence of cervical cancer in the developed world. Despite these advances, women are still diagnosed with cervical cancer, which can have a devastating impact, particularly in the recurrent and/or metastatic setting. Standard therapies for previously treated recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer generally result in response rates of less than 15 percent and a median overall survival of 6 to 8 months.3-10

Tisotumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of Genmab's human antibody that binds to Tissue Factor and Seattle Genetics' ADC technology that utilizes a cleavable linker and the cytotoxic drug monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). In cancer biology, Tissue Factor is a protein involved in tumor signaling and angiogenesis. Based on its high expression on many solid tumors and its rapid internalization, Tissue Factor was selected as a target for an ADC approach. In an earlier study, tisotumab vedotin demonstrated an encouraging response rate and manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed, recurrent and/or metastatic cervical cancer.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. is an emerging multi-product, global biotechnology company that develops and commercializes transformative therapies targeting cancer to make a meaningful difference in people's lives.