Bayer Inks Pharma Acquisition Deal to Advance Cancer Therapies
As part of the pharma acquisition deal, Bayer will gain exclusive rights to a differentiated alpha radionuclide investigational compound based on actinium-225.
Bayer recently entered into a pharma acquisition deal with Noria Therapeutics and PSMA Therapeutics to expand its prostate cancer therapies pipeline.
As part of the acquisition, Bayer will gain exclusive rights to a differentiated alpha radionuclide investigational compound based on actinium-225 and a small molecule directed towards prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), the company explained.
The acquisition broadens Bayer’s oncology portfolio of targeted alpha therapies (TATs). TATs are a class of radionuclide compounds being studied in various difficult-to-treat tumors, a Bayer spokesperson explained.
Specifically, TATs deliver alpha radiation to tumors inside the body either via their bone-seeking property or by combining alpha radionuclides, including actinium-225 or thorium-227, with specific moieties.
“Bayer is focused on addressing the various medical needs of cancer patients, providing treatments that have the potential to improve patient outcomes throughout the different stages of the disease,” Robert LaCaze, member of the executive committee of the pharmaceuticals division and head of the oncology strategic business unit at Bayer, said in the announcement.
“This acquisition is another important milestone in enhancing Bayer’s oncology portfolio through both in-house expertise and strategic collaborations and agreements,” LaCaze continued.
The company’s existing oncology portfolio includes Xofigo. In 2013, Xofigo was FDA-approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Specifically, the drug is intended for men with mCRPC with symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastatic disease.
The pre-investigation new drug program focuses on the treatment of prostate cancer. Currently, Xofigo is the only approved TAT.
Adding actinium-225-labeled small molecule to Bayer’s platform of investigational targeted thorium conjugates supports the company’s commitment to researching differentiated treatment options for cancer patients.
Noria Therapeutics and PSMA Therapeutics both have exclusive global rights to technology licensed from Weill Cornell Medicine and Johns Hopkins University.
Noria Therapeutics was founded by John Babich, MD, chief at radiopharmaceutical sciences in radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine.
“Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to bringing our faculty’s innovations to market so that patients can benefit from the latest therapeutics,” said Lisa Placanica, MD, senior managing director center for technology licensing at Weill Cornell Medicine.
“Bayer’s acquisition of Noria and PSMA Therapeutics which have nurtured Dr. Babich’s radiopharmaceutical and diagnostic technology, is an important milestone in drug development, and we look forward to the advances this collaboration can make to enhance prostate cancer therapies,” Placanica continued.
Marianne De Backer, MBA, PhD, member of the executive committee of the pharmaceutical division and head strategy and business development and licensing at Bayer, explained that there continues to be a significant unmet need in oncology.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men. An estimated 248,530 men in the US will be diagnosed with prostate cancer annually.
Men with metastatic prostate cancer have an approximately three in 10 chance of surviving five years. But there are many common treatments for advanced prostate cancer, including hormone therapy, orchiectomy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Overall, treatments that block the production of testosterone have been the cornerstone of advanced prostate cancer treatment for several decades.
In January, FDA approved relugolix. In a large clinical trial, relugolix was shown to be significantly more effective at reducing testosterone levels in men with advanced prostate cancer than another commonly used treatment, leuprolide.
And most recently, Novartis announced that its target radioligand therapy plus standard of care demonstrated significant overall survival compared with standard care alone in patients with progressive PSMA-positive mCRPC.
The therapy, Lu-PSMA-617, elicited a nearly 38 percent reduction in risk of death compared to standard of care. And Lu-PSMA-617 also demonstrated a 60 percent reduction for radiographic progression-free survival or death compared to standard of care.
