SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in the development of selective translation regulation inhibitors (STRIs) for the treatment of cancer, today announced that the first breast cancer patient has been dosed with a combination of tomivosertib and paclitaxel in a Phase 2 study led by McGill University in Canada. The study [NCT04261218] is funded through Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Canada. Tomivosertib is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of MNK1/2 that enhances T cell killing of tumors, delays T cell exhaustion and enhances T cell memory. Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy agent used to treat multiple tumor types, including breast cancer.
This Canadian study is led by Nahum Sonenberg, Ph.D., professor and Gillman Cheney Chair in biochemistry at McGill University in Montreal and a world-renowned expert in translation, and Michael Pollack, M.D., Alexander Goldfarb Research Chair in cancer research at McGill University. The Phase 2 open-label study will enroll approximately 40 patients with metastatic breast cancer for whom the standard of care has been ineffective. The study will evaluate the safety and pharmacodynamics of tomivosertib. Secondary outcomes measures include efficacy, as well as numerous biomarkers that explore the effect of tomivosertib on immune function and oncogene expression.
About Tomivosertib (eFT508)
Tomivosertib is eFFECTOR’s wholly-owned, highly selective translation regulation inhibitor that targets MNK1 and MNK2 (MNK1/2). The oral, small molecule drug candidate has been shown to enhance T cell killing, delay T cell exhaustion and enhance the T cell central memory pool. Tomivosertib is expected to enter KICKSTART, eFFECTOR’s randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase 2 study in non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with pembrolizumab, in Q4 2020. The KICKSTART study builds on results obtained in an earlier study of tomivosertib as an extension of checkpoint inhibitor treatment in patients experiencing insufficient response to an FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor alone [NCT03616834].
Please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for further information on ongoing clinical studies of tomivosertib.
About eFFECTOR
eFFECTOR is a next-generation oncology company developing a new class of targeted therapies called selective translation regulator inhibitors (STRIs). Tomivosertib, eFFECTOR’s MNK1/2 inhibitor is expected to enter KICKSTART, a randomized Phase 2 trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with pembrolizumab, in Q4 2020. Zotatifin, eFFECTOR’s inhibitor of eIF4A, is in a dose-escalation Phase 1 trial, with expansion cohorts expected to open in H1 2021. eFFECTOR has a partnership with Pfizer developing inhibitors of eIF4E.
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