- New oral approach aimed at disrupting cancer metabolism in high-risk sarcomas; 12,000 cases annually in U.S. alone
- Oral SM-88 represents a new approach designed to selectively disrupt protein synthesis in cancers with demonstrated responses in 15 different cancer types across four separate studies
- Targeted mechanism of action has resulted in fewer than 2% of patients experiencing serious adverse events related to SM-88 in all clinical trials
NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tyme Technologies, Inc. ( TYME), an emerging biotechnology company developing cancer metabolism-based therapies (CMBTs™), today announced the first sarcoma cancer patient has been dosed at the Sarcoma Oncology Center in the HopES Phase II trial designed to evaluate SM-88 (racemetyrosine) for the treatment of high-risk sarcomas, which are ultra-rare cancers with high unmet medical need. CMBTs are proprietary investigational compounds that are believed to disrupt cancer cells’ protein synthesis, leading to a breakdown of the cancer’s key defenses and cell death.
"The partnership with The Joseph Ahmed Foundation and the Sarcoma Oncology Center allows us to advance our commitment to addressing unmet treatment needs for rare cancers and continue advancing our unique scientific approach through cancer metabolism-based therapies. Our lead clinical investigational therapy, oral SM-88, has the potential to change the course of care for patients with high-risk sarcomas," said Giuseppe Del Priore, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer at TYME. "We look forward to the findings of the HopES trial and to continue strengthening our research efforts to potentially provide transformative options for patients with high-risk sarcomas and other metastatic cancers."
"There are significant knowledge gaps about high-risk sarcomas, such as Ewing’s sarcoma, including the role of cancer metabolism-based medicines, and the related outcomes for patients," said Sant Chawla, M.D., founder of the Sarcoma Oncology Center, Santa Monica, CA and lead investigator for the HopES trial. "This study has the potential to provide valuable real-world evidence that can help advance care for patients with high-risk sarcomas. We are excited to partner with TYME to further advance the science of cancer metabolism, research and education in these rare cancers so that patients can have better, safer options."
The HopES trial is a prospective open-label Phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of SM-88 in two cohorts of patients. Up to 24 evaluable patients (12 per cohort) will be enrolled. The first cohort will evaluate oral SM-88 as maintenance monotherapy following standard primary or palliative treatments for Ewing's sarcoma patients with a high risk of relapse or disease progression. The second cohort will determine the clinical benefits of SM-88 as salvage monotherapy for patients with clinically advanced sarcomas. The Joseph Ahmed Foundation is providing funding and patient support for this investigator-initiated Phase II (HopES) trial of SM-88 in patients with previously treated metastatic sarcoma. The primary objectives are to measure efficacy events, including overall response, stable disease and progression free survival. Secondary objectives include duration of response, overall survival, clinical benefit rate using response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST 1.1), and incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. Learn more at TYMETRIALS.com.
About Sarcomas and Ewing’s Sarcoma
Sarcomas are rare cancers in adults but are more common in children. There are approximately 12,0001 new sarcoma cases annually in the U.S. alone. There are many “subtypes” of sarcoma, as it can arise in many tissue structures throughout the body (nerves, muscles, joints, bone, fat, blood vessels – collectively referred to as the body’s “connective tissues”). Sarcomas are most frequently found in the limbs, as this is where the majority of the body’s connective tissues are found but can also present within the sites of more “common” cancers (e.g., breast sarcoma, stomach sarcoma, lung sarcoma, ovarian sarcoma, etc.). Sarcoma cancers often grow hidden deep in the body and are often diagnosed when the tumor size limits effective treatment options.
Ewing’s sarcoma is a primary bone cancer within a group of cancers known collectively as the Ewing’s sarcoma family of tumors. Ewing’s sarcoma is a type of tumor that forms in the bone or soft tissue. It is a rare type of cancer that is often overlooked and receives minimal recognition and research funding. Although Ewing’s sarcoma is typically a pediatric cancer, (it accounts for 30% of bone cancers in children), it can also be found in adults. The most commonly affected areas include the pelvis, thigh, lower leg, upper arm, and chest wall.
About SM-88
SM-88 is an oral investigational modified proprietary tyrosine derivative that is believed to interrupt the metabolic processes of cancer cells by breaking down the cells’ key defenses and leading to cell death through oxidative stress and exposure to the body’s natural immune system. Clinical trial data have shown that SM-88 has demonstrated encouraging tumor responses across 15 different cancers, including pancreatic, lung, breast, prostate and sarcoma cancers with minimal serious grade 3 or higher adverse events.
About the Joseph Ahmed Foundation
The Joseph Ahmed Foundation (JAF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2016 by the family of Joseph Ahmed, who lost his courageous battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma eight months after his diagnosis on September 1, 2014, at the age of 16. Through their tragic loss and grief, Joseph’s loved ones established the Joseph Ahmed Foundation which is dedicated to raising public awareness for the importance of early detection of the disease, and the urgent need of funding for research and development of innovative treatment and therapies to treat Ewing’s Sarcoma and other forms of pediatric cancer. JAF’s mission is to provide resources for research programs and support services through fundraising, philanthropic donations, corporate sponsorship and grants. JAF is comprised of passionate board members and volunteers who all share the same vision, finding a cure. The foundation can be reached at 212-867-8667. The global website is www.thejosephahmedfoundation.org
About Tyme Technologies
Tyme Technologies, Inc., is an emerging biotechnology company developing cancer therapeutics that are intended to be broadly effective across tumor types and have low toxicity profiles. Unlike targeted therapies that attempt to regulate specific mutations within cancer, the Company’s therapeutic approach is designed to take advantage of a cancer cell’s innate metabolic weaknesses to compromise its defenses, leading to cancer cell death through oxidative stress and exposure to the body’s natural immune system. For more information, visit www.tymeinc.com. Follow us on social media: @tyme_Inc, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements/Disclosure Notice
In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements within this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding our drug candidates including SM-88 and TYME-18 and their clinical potential and non-toxic safety profiles, our drug development plans and strategies, ongoing and planned clinical trials, preliminary data results and the therapeutic design and mechanisms of our drug candidates; and readers can identify forward-looking statements by sentences or passages involving the use of terms such as “believes,” “expects,” “hopes,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “intends,” “estimates,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “continue,” “seeks,” or “anticipates,” and similar words including their use in the negative or by discussions of future matters such as the cost of development and potential commercialization of our lead drug candidate and of other new products, expected releases of interim or final data from our clinical trials, possible collaborations, the timing, scope and objectives of our ongoing and planned clinical trials and other statements that are not historical. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management’s current expectations, which are subject to uncertainty, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of TYME’s control. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any historical results and future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, that the information is of a preliminary nature and may be subject to change; uncertainties inherent in the cost and outcomes of research and development, including the cost and availability of acceptable-quality clinical supply and the ability to achieve adequate clinical study design and start and completion dates; the possibility of unfavorable study results, including unfavorable new clinical data and additional analyses of existing data; risks associated with early, initial data, including the risk that the final data from any clinical trials may differ from prior or preliminary study data; final results of additional clinical trials that may be different from the preliminary data analysis and may not support further clinical development; that past reported data are not necessarily predictive of future patient or clinical data outcomes; whether and when any applications or other submissions for SM-88 may be filed with regulatory authorities; whether and when regulatory authorities may approve any applications or submissions; decisions by regulatory authorities regarding labeling and other matters that could affect commercial availability of SM-88; the ability of TYME and its collaborators to develop and realize collaborative synergies; competitive developments; and the factors described in the section captioned “Risk Factors” of TYME’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2019, as well as subsequent reports we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission available at www.sec.gov.
The information contained in this press release is as of its release date and TYME assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of future events or developments.
1https://www.cancer.org/cancer/soft-tissue-sarcoma/about/key-statistics.html
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