FDA Fast Track Designation Grants to Elevation’s Treatment Targeting Rare Genomic Alteration in Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation to Elevation Oncology’s seribantumab for the tumor-agnostic treatment of advanced solid tumors that harbor NRG1 gene fusions.

Photo: Shawn Leland, founder and CEO of Elevation Oncology

Seribantumab is a fully human IgG2 monoclonal antibody that binds to human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3). HER3 is traditionally activated through binding of its primary ligand, neuregulin-1 (NRG1). The NRG1 gene fusion is a rare genomic alteration that combines NRG1 with another partner protein to create chimeric NRG1 “fusion proteins.” NRG1 fusion protein is often also able to activate the HER3 pathway, leading to unregulated cell growth and proliferation. Importantly, NRG1 gene fusions are predominantly mutually exclusive with other known genomic driver mutations and are considered a unique oncogenic driver event associated with tumor cell survival.

NRG1 fusions have been identified in a variety of solid tumors, including lung, pancreatic, gallbladder, breast, ovarian, colorectal, neuroendocrine, cholangiocarcinomas, and sarcomas. In preclinical experiments, seribantumab prevented the activation of HER3 signaling in cells that harbor an NRG1 gene fusion and destabilized the entire ERBB family signaling pathway including the activation of HER2, EGFR, and HER4. In addition to extensive nonclinical characterization and testing, seribantumab has been administered to over 800 patients across twelve phase 1 and 2 studies, both as a monotherapy and in combination with various anti-cancer therapies.

Seribantumab was granted Fast Track designation from the FDA for the tumor-agnostic treatment of patients whose solid tumors harbor NRG1 fusions and is currently being evaluated in the phase 2 CRESTONE study for patients with solid tumors of any origin that have an NRG1 fusion, for which initial data will be presented in an oral presentation at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2022.

“There are currently no approved therapies that specifically target NRG1 fusions, and therefore, receipt of Fast Track designation in a tumor-agnostic setting is a significant step in addressing this unmet need,” said Shawn Leland, founder and CEO of Elevation Oncology. “NRG1 fusions are a type of genomic alteration that causes unregulated cell growth and proliferation in a variety of solid tumors, and we look forward to working closely with the FDA as we continue exploring the potential of seribantumab to improve outcomes for patients whose tumor harbors this unique oncogenic driver.”

Fast Track is an FDA process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of potential therapies that seek to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. A drug candidate that receives Fast Track designation is afforded greater access to the FDA for the purpose of expediting the drug’s development, review, and potential approval. Additionally, the designation allows for eligibility for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met, as well as a Rolling Review, which means a drug company can submit completed sections of its New Drug Application (NDA) for review by FDA, rather than waiting until every section of the NDA is completed before the entire application can be submitted for review.

Author: Rare Daily Staff