Affimed N.V. (Nasdaq: AFMD) (“Affimed”, or the “Company”), a
clinical-stage immuno-oncology company committed to giving patients
back their innate ability to fight cancer, today announced that the
U.S. FDA has granted RMAT designation to the combination therapy of
Affimed’s innate cell engager (ICE®) acimtamig and Artiva
Biotherapeutic’s AlloNK® (AB101) for the treatment of relapsed or
refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma (R/R HL). The combination is being
evaluated in the on-going LuminICE-203 multicenter, multi-cohort
phase 2 trial.
RMAT designation is intended to expedite the development and
review of regenerative medicine therapies, including cell
therapies, that aim to address serious or life-threatening
conditions. RMAT designation provides the same expedited review
benefits as a Breakthrough Therapy Designation, but is exclusively
focused on regenerative medicine products. This designation
provides Affimed enhanced access to FDA resources including the
potential for accelerated approval and priority review. These
benefits could significantly reduce the time required to deliver
the acimtamig and AlloNK® combination to R/R HL patients in
need.
“This is an important regulatory milestone demonstrating that
the FDA acknowledges the critical need for new therapies in R/R HL,
in particular for double refractory HL patients where there are no
approved therapies,” said Dr. Shawn M. Leland, PharmD, RPh, Chief
Executive Officer of Affimed. “In addition, the RMAT designation
validates the strength of our growing clinical data and the promise
of our innovative treatment to bring hope to patients battling this
rare and difficult-to-treat cancer.”
Earlier this year, Affimed reported promising early efficacy
data from cohorts 1 and 2 (12 patients) of the LuminICE-203 trial.
The data showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 83.3% (10/12) and
a complete response rate (CRR) of 50% (6/12), with a well-managed
safety profile. Data from all four cohorts of the run-in phase of
the LuminICE-203 trial will be featured in a poster session at the
66th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition on December 8, 2024.
This promising combination has applicability not only in HL, but
also in other CD30 positive lymphomas such as peripheral T-cell
lymphoma (PTCL), which can also be resistant to conventional
therapies, has a high risk of relapse, and where few products are
approved. Generating clinical proof-of-concept in PTCL would also
highlight a potential path to increasing the commercial potential
of the combination by two to three-fold in comparison to the number
of patients with double-refractory HL.
About Acimtamig
Acimtamig (AFM13) is a first-in-class ICE® that uniquely
activates the innate immune system to destroy CD30-positive
hematologic tumors. Acimtamig induces specific and selective
killing of CD30-positive tumor cells, leveraging the power of the
innate immune system by engaging and activating natural killer (NK)
cells and macrophages. Acimtamig is a tetravalent bispecific innate
cell engager designed to act as a bridge between the innate immune
cells and the tumor, creating the necessary proximity for the
innate immune cells to destroy the tumor cells.
About LuminICE-203 (AFM13-203)
LuminICE-203 (AFM13-203) is a Phase 2 open-label, multicenter,
multi-cohort study. The trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy
of the combination of acimtamig (AFM13) with Artiva
Biotherapeutics’ allogeneic NK cell AlloNK® (AB-101) in patients
with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma and
CD30-positive peripheral T cell lymphoma (NCT05883449).
The study builds on the unprecedented efficacy results from an
investigator sponsored study, AFM13-104, which investigated
acimtamig in combination with cord blood-derived NK cells in
patients with refractory/recurrent CD30-positive Hodgkin or
non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NCT04074746).
About Affimed N.V.
Affimed (Nasdaq: AFMD) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology
company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to
fight cancer by actualizing the untapped potential of the innate
immune system. The Company’s innate cell engagers (ICE®) enable a
tumor-targeted approach to recognize and kill a range of
hematologic and solid tumors. ICE® are generated on the Company’s
proprietary ROCK® platform which predictably generates customized
molecules that leverage the power of innate immune cells to destroy
tumor cells. A number of ICE® molecules are in clinical
development, being studied as mono- or combination therapy.
Headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, Affimed is led by an
experienced team of biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders united
by the bold vision to stop cancer from ever derailing patients’
lives. For more about the Company’s people, pipeline and partners,
please visit: www.affimed.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such
as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,”
“intend,” “look forward to,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,”
“project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places throughout
this release and include statements regarding the Company’s
intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses and current
expectations concerning, among other things, the potential of
acimtamig (AFM13), AFM24, AFM28 and the Company’s other product
candidates; the value of its ROCK® platform; its ongoing and
planned clinical trials; its corporate restructuring, the
associated headcount reduction and the impact this may have on
Company’s anticipated savings and total costs and expenses; its
collaborations and development of its products in combination with
other therapies; the timing of and its ability to make regulatory
filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for its
product candidates; its intellectual property position; its
collaboration activities; its ability to develop commercial
functions; clinical trial data; its results of operations, cash
needs, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, future
transactions, growth and strategies; the industry in which it
operates; the macroeconomic trends that may affect the industry or
the Company, such as the instability in the banking sector
experienced in the first quarter of 2023; impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic, the benefits to Affimed of orphan drug designation; the
impact on its business by political events, war, terrorism,
business interruptions and other geopolitical events and
uncertainties, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict; the fact that
the current clinical data of acimtamig in combination with NK cell
therapy is based on acimtamig precomplexed with fresh allogeneic
cord blood-derived NK cells from The University of Texas MD
Anderson Cancer Center, as opposed to Artiva’s AB-101; and other
uncertainties and factors described under the heading “Risk
Factors” in Affimed’s filings with the SEC. Given these risks,
uncertainties, and other factors, you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, and the Company
assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements,
even if new information becomes available in the future.
Affimed Investor Relations Contact
Alexander FudukidisDirector, Investor
RelationsE-Mail: a.fudukidis@affimed.comTel.: +1 (917) 436-8102
Affimed Media Contact
Mary Beth Sandin Vice President, Marketing and
CommunicationsE-Mail: m.sandin@affimed.com
Affimed NV (NASDAQ:AFMD)
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