JNJ-61186372 is a bispecific antibody being jointly developed by Genmab and Janssen for the treatment of cancer. The treatment is currently in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

How JNJ-61186372 works

Bispecific antibodies are proteins that are able to recognize and bind to two different molecules. In the case of JNJ-61186372, these are epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR; cMet). These two receptors, in their mutant form, play major roles in the proliferation of cancer cells. By targeting EGFR and cMet, JNJ-61186372 triggers a chain of events leading to the degradation of these receptors and prevents their activation in the future. The mechanism of JNJ-61186372 is believed to prevent the proliferation of tumor cells and thus aids in the treatment of cancer.

JNJ-61186372 in clinical trials

The anti-tumor activity of JNJ-61186372 was investigated in in vitro and in vivo studies involving tumor models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) implanted in mice. The results of study published in the scientific journal MAbs revealed that JNJ-61186372 was effective in reducing the tumor growth.

The safety, pharmacokinetics and the preliminary efficacy of JNJ-61186372 are also being investigated in a Phase 1 clinical study (NCT02609776) involving patients with advanced NSCLC. The study, which is currently at the recruiting stage, is also the first-in-human, open-label, dose escalation study of JNJ-61186372 that is being conducted to establish one or more recommended phase 2 dose regimens, as well as determine the dose limiting toxicity of the drug. The dose limiting toxicity of the drug will be determined based on the rate of adverse events such as unacceptable hematologic toxicity, non-hematologic toxicity, or elevations in hepatic enzymes.

Apart from this, the study will also investigate the objective response rate. The objective response rate will be calculated based on the percentage of participants who achieve either a complete response, or disappearance of all target lesions, or a partial response, or a 30% decrease in sum of diameters of target lesions. The study is estimated to enroll around 90 patients and is expected to be completed by the early 2020.

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