RedHill Biopharma has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a new patent application related to the use of two of RedHill’s proprietary investigational compounds, opaganib (Yeliva?, ABC294640) and RHB-107 (upamostat), for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. The patent is expected to extend IP protection for the combination until 2036.

Findings from a recent pre-clinical study evaluating the antitumor effect of opaganib and RHB-107 on cholangiocarcinoma (also known as bile duct cancer) patient-derived xenografts demonstrated that treatment with opaganib and RHB-107, individually and in combination, resulted in tumor regression. Moreover, the combination of both drugs was found to be more potent and well tolerated in the animal models. These findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting earlier this year2.

“It is becoming increasingly evident that cancers are dependent on a number of altered molecular pathways and can develop diverse mechanisms of resistance to therapy with single agents,” said Danielle T. Abramson, Ph.D., VP, Intellectual Property & Research at RedHill. “This application is part of a growing patent portfolio that expands patent protection for our oncology program through 2036. We are very pleased with the additional IP protection for the novel combination of opaganib and RHB-107, which follows promising findings on the potent synergistic antitumor activity of this combination.”

RedHill is conducting a Phase 2a study evaluating the activity of opaganib in advanced, unresectable intrahepatic, perihilar and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (NCT03377179). Enrollment has been completed for the first cohort of 39 patients, evaluating the activity of orally-administered opaganib as a stand-alone treatment. Preliminary data from this cohort indicated a signal of activity in a number of subjects with advanced cholangiocarcinoma, and in light of these data, input from key opinion leaders and preclinical research that had been conducted at Mayo Clinic, RedHill initiated enrollment for a second cohort, evaluating opaganib in combination with hydroxychloroquine, an anti-autophagy agent. Given the encouraging pre-clinical data, RedHill plans to add an additional cohort to the ongoing Phase 2a study in cholangiocarcinoma, evaluating opaganib in combination with RHB-107, subject to discussions with the U.S. FDA.

Opaganib, a new chemical entity, is a proprietary, first-in-class, orally-administered, sphingosine kinase-2 (SK2) selective inhibitor with demonstrated dual anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity that targets a host cell component, potentially minimizing the likelihood of viral resistance. Opaganib has also shown anticancer activity and has the potential to target multiple oncology, viral, inflammatory and gastrointestinal indications.

Opaganib received Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. FDA for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma and is being evaluated in a Phase 2a study in advanced cholangiocarcinoma and in a Phase 2 study in prostate cancer. Opaganib is also being evaluated in a global Phase 2/3 study and a U.S. Phase 2 study for the treatment of severe COVID-19.

Preclinical data have demonstrated both anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities of opaganib, with the potential to reduce inflammatory lung disorders, such as pneumonia, and mitigate pulmonary fibrotic damage. Opaganib demonstrated potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, completely inhibiting viral replication in an in vitro model of human lung bronchial tissue. Additionally, preclinical in vivo studies3 have demonstrated that opaganib decreased fatality rates from influenza virus infection and ameliorated Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced lung injury by reducing the levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids.

Opaganib was originally developed by U.S.-based Apogee Biotechnology Corp. and completed multiple successful preclinical studies in oncology, inflammation, GI, and radioprotection models, as well as a Phase 1 clinical study in cancer patients with advanced solid tumors and an additional Phase 1 study in multiple myeloma.

Under a compassionate use program, patients with COVID-19 (as classified by the WHO ordinal scale) were treated with opaganib in a leading hospital in Israel. Data from the treatment of these first patients with severe COVID-19 with opaganib have been published2. Analysis of treatment outcomes suggested substantial benefit to patients treated with opaganib under compassionate use in both clinical outcomes and inflammatory markers as compared to a retrospective matched case-control group from the same hospital. All patients in the opaganib-treated group were discharged from hospital on room air without requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, whereas 33% of the matched case-control group required intubation and mechanical ventilation. Median time to weaning from high-flow nasal cannula was reduced to 10 days in the opaganib-treated group, as compared to 15 days in the matched case-control group.

The development of opaganib has been supported by grants and contracts from U.S. federal and state government agencies awarded to Apogee Biotechnology Corp., including from the NCI, BARDA, the U.S. Department of Defense and the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development.