Kunkel, Lori

Abstract Abstract 302 Background: Carfilzomib (CFZ) is a proteasome inhibitor with unique target selectivity and an irreversible binding mechanism that results in sustained proteasome inhibition. In preclinical studies, CFZ lacks non-proteasome off-target activities associated with bortezomib (BTZ) (Kapur et al, Blood 2008). This may account for observed differences in tolerability with CFZ (e.g. minimal neuropathy and myelosuppression), permitting consecutive day dosing and treatment over an extended period of time. We previously observed higher response rates in multiple myeloma (MM) patients without prior BTZ exposure (BTZ-naïve) compared to those with relapsed disease following BTZ therapy (BTZ-treated). Here we present updated data on the BTZ-naïve cohort from PX-171-004, an ongoing Phase 2 study of single-agent CFZ in MM patients with relapsed or refractory disease following 1–3 prior therapies. Methods: Patients with relapsed or refractory (e.g, < 25% response or disease progression during last treatment) MM were enrolled and stratified into two cohorts: BTZ-naïve and BTZ-treated. CFZ 20 mg/m2 IV was administered on Days 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16 every 28 days, for up to 12 cycles. The primary endpoint was Overall Response Rate [≥ Partial Response (PR)] per International Uniform Response Criteria for Multiple Myeloma. Secondary endpoints included Clinical Benefit Response [CBR = ORR + Minor Reponse (MR)] and safety. Results: Fifty-seven BTZ-naive patients have been enrolled and 56 subjects have received at least one dose of CFZ. Prior therapies included alkylators (81%), stem cell transplant (SCT) (77%), thalidomide (THAL) (67%), lenalidomide (LEN) (42%), and anthracyclines (23%). Ten (18%) patients had received both LEN and THAL and 18 (32%) patients were refractory to their most recent regimen prior to study entry. At baseline, 30 (53%) patients had an ECOG score ≥ 1, 21 (37%) had neuropathy Grade ≥ 1, 12 (21%) had impaired renal function (CrCl < 60 mL/min) and 10 (18%) had diabetes. The mean time from diagnosis was 4 years (range 0.7–24). To date, the mean number of CFZ doses administered was 29.2 (∼5 four-week cycles; range 2–72 doses, 1–12 cycles). Fifty-one patients initiated therapy and were evaluable for response per protocol. The ORR was 45% (23/51 patients) and included 1 CR, 4 VGPR and 18 PR. An additional 9 (18%) patients had MR and 10 (20%) had stable disease (SD) for ≥ 6 weeks. The most common (>25%) adverse events (AEs) were fatigue (59%), nausea (41%), dyspnea (36%), and anemia (29%), and were primarily ≤ Grade 2. Grade 3/4 AEs occurring in ≥ 5% of patients were thrombocytopenia (9%), fatigue (9%), neutropenia (7%), lymphopenia (7%), anemia (5%), pneumonia (5%) and hyperglycemia (5%). One (1.7%) patient had febrile neutropenia. Dose modifications were rarely required. Peripheral neuropathy (PN) of any grade was infrequent (7 patients, 12%) with a single case of Grade 3 PN (2%) in a pt with a history of THAL-induced PN that lasted 41 days. The CFZ dose was reduced and the event resolved to Grade 1 while on CFZ and prior to study discontinuation. Of the12 patients with impaired renal function at baseline, none required dose modifications due to renal AE. Overall, 5 patients have completed the full 12-cycle protocol and another 5 (9%) have completed ≥ 9 cycles; 17 patients (30%) are continuing on study. Conclusions: The 45% ORR (CBR 63%) is noteworthy for a single-agent regimen in patients with tumor progression despite therapy with novel combinations. CFZ can be safely administered to patients with significant comorbidities (e.g. peripheral neuropathy, leukopenia, renal dysfunction, diabetes) when other anti-myeloma agents may not be well tolerated. Enrollment to PX-171-004 is continuing and, based on the safety profile, subjects are now permitted to dose escalate to 27 mg/m2. Disclosures: Wang: Proteolix: Honoraria, Research Funding. Off Label Use: testing testing. Siegel:Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Millennium: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Jakubowiak:Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Centocor Ortho Biotech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Exelixis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers-Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Kukreti:Celgene: Honoraria. Bahlis:Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Ortho Biotech: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. McDonagh:Proteolix: Research Funding. Belch:Ortho Biotech: Honoraria, Research Funding. Le:Proteolix, Inc.: Employment. Bennett:Proteolix: Employment. Kunkel:Proteolix: Consultancy, Employment. Kauffman:Proteolix, Inc.: Employment. Vij:Proteolix, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding.

SummaryCarfilzomib is a next‐generation proteasome inhibitor that selectively and irreversibly binds to its target. In clinical studies, carfilzomib has shown efficacy in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) and has demonstrated a tolerable safety profile. In this phase 2, open‐label, multicentre clinical trial, 35 patients with relapsed and/or refractory MM following 1–3 prior therapies, including at least one bortezomib‐based regimen, received carfilzomib 20 mg/m2 in a twice‐weekly, consecutive‐day dosing schedule for ≤12 monthly cycles. The best overall response rate (ORR) was 17·1% and the clinical benefit response rate (ORR + minimal response) was 31·4%. The median duration of response was >10·6 months and the median time to progression was 4·6 months. The most common adverse events were fatigue (62·9%), nausea (60·0%), and vomiting (42·9%). No exacerbation of baseline peripheral neuropathy was observed. Single‐agent carfilzomib was generally well tolerated for up to 12 treatment cycles and showed activity in patients with relapsed and/or refractory MM who had received prior treatment with bortezomib. These data, combined with an acceptable toxicity profile, support the potential use of carfilzomib in patients with relapsed and/or refractory MM and warrant continued investigation of carfilzomib as single agent or in combination with other agents.

AbstractCarfilzomib is a next-generation, selective proteasome inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. In this open-label, single-arm phase 2 study (PX-171-003-A1), patients received single-agent carfilzomib 20 mg/m2 intravenously twice weekly for 3 of 4 weeks in cycle 1, then 27 mg/m2 for ≤ 12 cycles. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (≥ partial response). Secondary endpoints included clinical benefit response rate (≥ minimal response), duration of response, progression-free survival, overall survival, and safety. A total of 266 patients were evaluable for safety, 257 for efficacy; 95% were refractory to their last therapy; 80% were refractory or intolerant to both bortezomib and lenalidomide. Patients had median of 5 prior lines of therapy, including bortezomib, lenalidomide, and thalidomide. Overall response rate was 23.7% with median duration of response of 7.8 months. Median overall survival was 15.6 months. Adverse events (AEs) were manageable without cumulative toxicities. Common AEs were fatigue (49%), anemia (46%), nausea (45%), and thrombocytopenia (39%). Thirty-three patients (12.4%) experienced peripheral neuropathy, primarily grades 1 or 2. Thirty-three patients (12.4%) withdrew because of an AE. Durable responses and an acceptable tolerability profile in this heavily pretreated population demonstrate the potential of carfilzomib to offer meaningful clinical benefit. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00511238.

Abstract Carfilzomib is a selective proteasome inhibitor that binds irreversibly to its target. In phase 1 studies, carfilzomib elicited promising responses and an acceptable toxicity profile in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM). In the present phase 2, multicenter, open-label study, 129 bortezomib-naive patients with R/R MM (median of 2 prior therapies) were separated into Cohort 1, scheduled to receive intravenous carfilzomib 20 mg/m2 for all treatment cycles, and Cohort 2, scheduled to receive 20 mg/m2 for cycle 1 and then 27 mg/m2 for all subsequent cycles. The primary end point was an overall response rate (≥ partial response) of 42.4% in Cohort 1 and 52.2% in Cohort 2. The clinical benefit response (overall response rate + minimal response) was 59.3% and 64.2% in Cohorts 1 and 2, respectively. Median duration of response was 13.1 months and not reached, and median time to progression was 8.3 months and not reached, respectively. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were fatigue (62.0%) and nausea (48.8%). Single-agent carfilzomib elicited a low incidence of peripheral neuropathy—17.1% overall (1 grade 3; no grade 4)—in these pretreated bortezomib-naive patients. The results of the present study support the use of carfilzomib in R/R MM patients. This trial is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00530816.

Abstract Purpose: Carfilzomib (formerly PR-171) is a novel proteasome inhibitor of the epoxyketone class that is selective and structurally distinct from bortezomib. Proteasome inhibition by carfilzomib is mechanistically irreversible. Consequently, proteasome inhibition is more sustained with carfilzomib than with bortezomib. Experimental Design: In a phase 1 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of carfilzomib in relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies, eight dose groups of three to six patients received 5 consecutive days of carfilzomib i.v. push at doses of 1.2, 2.4, 4, 6, 8.4, 11, 15, and 20 mg/m2 within 14-day cycles. Results: Twenty-nine patients enrolled that were relapsed or refractory after at least two prior therapies. Nonhematologic toxicities included fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea in more than one third of patientsmostly grade 1 or 2 in severity. At 20 mg/m2, grade 3 febrile neutropenia and grade 4 thrombocytopenia were reported, establishing 15 mg/m2 as the maximum tolerated dose. No grade 3 or 4 peripheral neuropathies were reported. Antitumor activity was observed at doses 11 mg/m2: one unconfirmed complete response (mantle cell), one partial response (multiple myeloma), and two minimal responses (multiple myeloma and Waldenstrm's macroglobulinemia). Conclusion: This is the first clinical use of carfilzomib that shows tolerability and clinical activity in multiple hematologic malignancies using consecutive-day dosing. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(22):708591)