First Patient Treated in Phase I/II Trial in AML and ALL with Lu177-PentixaTher

Expanding the Evidence Base for Targeted Radiotherapy Approaches

Pentixapharm Holding AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative first-in-class radiopharmaceuticals, today announced that the first patient has been treated in a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Lu177-PentixaTher, a novel radiopharmaceutical therapy, in adults for relapsed/refractory CXCR4 positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The trial, funded by the French Ministry of Health and led by a renowned investigator team from the University Hospital in Nantes, represents a significant step toward expanding targeted radiotherapy options for hematologic malignancies.

The investor-initiated study, named PENTILULA is a multicenter, open-label trial in which up to 21 patients with relapsed/refractory AML or ALL will be enrolled over a period of 24 months, with a total study duration of 36 months. The primary objective is to determine the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of Lu177-PentixaTher, and to examine key efficacy parameters such as overall response rate (ORR) and complete remission (CR) after infusion of the novel radiotherapeutic agent.

Following a peer-reviewed publication in January 2023 in the prestigious Journal of Nuclear Medicine highlighting promising clinical results in the treatment of patients suffering from T-cell lymphoma, further evidence continues to be built up about the potential of Pentixapharm’s lead candidate, PentixaTher, for the treatment of haemato-oncological diseases.

The study is significant for Pentixapharm insofar as the incidence of ALL and AML, and hence the medical need, is much higher than that for T-Cell lymphoma. The PENTILULA trial is the first trial that combines PentixaTher with Lutetium-177, a radioisotope widely and successfully used for the treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer or neuroendocrine tumors.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are aggressive and life-threatening blood cancers that affect thousands of people worldwide each year. AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults, with an incidence of approximately 20,000 new cases per year and low five-year survival rate of 31.9% in the United States.

ALL is the most common type of cancer in children, with a high incidence in adults as well. Current treatment options often involve intensive chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, which can have severe side effects. Effective radiotherapies in other indications are currently reimbursed with more than 100,000 USD per patient.

“Although treatments for acute leukemia have advanced, many patients continue to have limited options and face poor outcomes. We believe PentixaTher holds significant potential to address these unmet needs, offering a valuable radiopharmaceutical theranostic approach tailored to the individual patients with hematologic malignancies.

We are delighted that leading experts such as Professor Françoise Kraeber-Bodéré of the Nuclear Medicine Department and Professor Patrice Chevallier of the Hematology Department in Nantes have decided to initiate this study to evaluate this novel radiotherapeutic treatment option.

We are committed to providing our full support, leveraging our therapeutic knowledge with PentixaTher and facilitating access to the compound to drive this important research forward.” – explains Dr. Dirk Pleimes, Group CEO and CMO at Pentixapharm.

Professor Françoise Kraeber-Bodéré is the Head of the department of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital in Nantes, France, and an expert of the Oncology committee of the French Society of Nuclear Medicine (SFMN) as well as of the Oncology and Therapy committee of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine. She is on the scientific board of the French Lymphoma research group LYSA and expert for PET imaging in lymphoma and myeloma. Professor Patrice Chevallier is a specialist in Hematology and member of the executive committee and scientific council of HéMA, an umbrella organization for hemato-oncological research in Western France.

About Pentixapharm

Pentixapharm is a clinical-stage biotech company discovering and developing novel targeted radiopharmaceuticals with its offices in Berlin and Würzburg, Germany. It is committed to developing CXCR4 ligand-based first-in-class radiopharmaceutical approaches with a clear commercial pathway for diagnostic and therapeutic programs in a number of hematological and solid cancers, as well as cardiovascular, endocrine and inflammatory diseases.

Its Pipeline includes PentixaTher, an Yttrium-90 or Lutetium-177 based therapeutic against non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), and PentixaFor, a Gallium-68 based companion diagnostic for blood cancers and cardiovascular diseases. PentixaTher is an innovative radiotherapeutic that specifically targets the chemokine-4 receptor (CXCR4). Background material about its potential for the treatment of haematooncological diseases can be found here.

About Nantes University Hospital

Nantes University Hospital (CHU de Nantes) is one of France’s leading healthcare institutions, recognized for its excellence in various medical specialties including cardiology, transplants, oncology, and neuroscience. The hospital is also a key player in medical research and innovation, conducting thousands of clinical trials and contributing to significant advancements in healthcare.