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Inhaled Buformin for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis and Lung Cancer Repurposing an old drug Steven Lehrer, MD President Fermata Pharma, Inc. 30 West 60th Street New York, New York 10023-7909 [email protected] Disclaimer • The views and opinions expressed in the following PowerPoint slides are those of the individual presenter and should not be attributed to Drug Information Association, Inc. (“DIA”), its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, members, chapters, councils, Special Interest Area Communities or affiliates, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. • These PowerPoint slides are the intellectual property of the individual presenter and are protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Drug Information Association, Drug Information Association Inc., DIA and DIA logo are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2 FERMATA Pharma Inhaled Buformin for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis and Lung Cancer Repurposing an old drug Contributors • John S. Patton, PhD – Inventor of Exubera Inhaled Insulin, founder of Nektar Therapeutics • Peter H. Rheinstein, MD, MS, JD – President, Severn Health Solutions • James L. Mulshine, MD – Associate Provost for Research, Rush Medical University, Chicago Fermata Summary– May 2016 • Development of buformin, a biguanide anti-diabetic and mTOR inhibitor, to target Non- Small Cell Lung Cancer and lymphangioleiomyomatosis, an orphan disease, via inhalation • US patent 9,248,110 issued Feb 2, 2016 • Ample literature evidence shows that biguanides are associated with a lower incidence of cancers in diabetics. • mTor inhibition with oral sirolimus (rapamycin) is an effective treatment for lymphangioleiomyomatosis; sirolimus(rapamycin) can not be inhaled because of its lung toxicity (interstitial pneumonitis) • Cancer medicines are the world’s top-selling drug category, with $22.3 billion in US sales last year, up from $15.8 billion in 2006. FDA approves new cancer drugs in just six months on average • Orphan drug laws in the U.S. and Europe offer tax breaks and market exclusivity for up to 10 years. Lymphangioleiomyomatosis • a rare lung disease caused by mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) activation that results in a proliferation of disorderly smooth muscle growth (leiomyoma) throughout the lungs, resulting in the obstruction of small airways, pulmonary cyst formation, pneumothorax and lymphatic obstruction with chylous pleural effusion. • occurs in a sporadic form which only affects females who are usually of childbearing age; also occurs in patients who have tuberous sclerosis. Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Radiographic Appearance • 23-year-old woman with dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, and weight loss. Chest radiograph demonstrates normal-to-large lung volumes, bilateral increased interstitial opacities, and bilateral pleural effusions (left one larger than the right). The interstitial opacities are more pronounced in the lung bases, and distinct cystic structures are seen in the right lung base (arrow). Lymphangioleiomyomatosis CT appearance • Note the characteristic cysts throughout the lung parenchyma in this young woman. mTOR • The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates cell growth, cell proliferation, cell motility, cell survival, protein synthesis, and transcription. The mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) Pathway • mTOR integrates the input from upstream pathways, including insulin, growth factors (such as IGF1 and IGF-2), and amino acids. mTOR also senses cellular nutrient and energy levels. The mTOR pathway is dysregulated in human diseases, especially cancers. Rapamycin is a bacterial product that can inhibit mTOR via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Rapamycin is toxic to the lung. Biguanides can also inhibit mTOR by AMPK activation but have no lung toxicity. Rapamycin inhibits mTOR • Long-term treatment of mice and other organisms with rapamycin extends life span and prevents tumors. But, at the same time, rapamycin disrupts metabolic regulation and the action of insulin. Lamming et al. dissected the action of rapamycin in genetically modified mice and found that these two actions of rapamycin can be separated. Rapamycin inhibits a protein kinase complex, mTORC1, and this appears to provide most of the life-lengthening and antitumor effects of the drug. However, rapamycin also acts on a related complex, mTORC2. The disruption of mTORC2 action produces the diabetic-like symptoms of decreased glucose tolerance and insensitivity to insulin. • D. W. Lamming, L. Ye, P. Katajisto, M. D. Goncalves, M. Saitoh, D. M. Stevens, J. G. Davis, A. B. Salmon, A. Richardson, R. S. Ahima, D. A. Guertin, D. M. Sabatini, J. A. Baur, Rapamycin-induced insulin resistance is mediated by mTORC2 loss and uncoupled from longevity. Science 335, 1638–1643 (2012). Biguanides inhibit only mTORC1 • Widely used generic class of small molecule drugs prescribed as oral anti-diabetic – Metformin – Buformin (sold in Hungary, Rumania, Japan, and Taiwan) – Phenformin withdrawn from US market because of its propensity to cause lactic acidosis – Benfosformin, etoformin, tiformin • Well recognized as cell proliferation inhibitors – AMPK activation and mTORC1 inhibition – mTOR inhibitors are in development/use as anti-cancer agents and for treatment of lymphangioleiomyomatosis – Biguanides have no known lung toxicity after decades of use in millions of patients Lymphangioleiomyomatosis: Cause and Treatment • inappropriate activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, which regulates cellular growth and lymphangiogenesis. • Oral rapamycin (sirolimus), by inhibiting mTOR, stabilizes lung function and is associated with a reduction in symptoms and improvement in quality of life. • Rapamycin (Sirolimus) cannot be given inhaled because of its lung toxicity (interstitial pneumonitis). Inhaled Buformin for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis • Oral metformin is being tested as treatment. • The mTOR inhibitor buformin could be an ideal inhaled treatment because it has no known lung toxicity and can be given in inhaled doses that may be one tenth or less of the toxic dose of buformin required to produce lactic acidosis, its principal side-effect. FDA Approval of Rapamune, 2015 The safety and efficacy of Rapamune (rapamycin) for treatment of LAM were studied in a clinical trial that compared Rapamune with an inactive drug (placebo) in 89 patients for a 12-month treatment period, followed by a 12-month observation period. The primary endpoint was the difference between the groups in the rate of change in how much air a person can exhale during a forced breath in one second (forced expiratory volume in one second or FEV1). The difference in the average decrease in FEV1 during the 12month treatment period was approximately 153 mL. After discontinuation of Rapamune, the decline in lung function resumed at a rate similar to the placebo group. 15 Lung Cancer – An Unmet Need • 1.1 million new cases per year in men and 0.51 million new cases per year in women worldwide • Cause of 28% of all cancer deaths in the US – 85% NSCLC • Cure rate 12% (16% 5 year survival) • Current treatments – Surgery followed by chemotherapy – Expensive, very limited benefit 16% of lung cancer is Stage I Localized at diagnosis JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (21 December 2005) 97(24): 1805 Lung Tumor Vulnerability • Normal lung tissue is protected by cilia, which beat constantly to move a protective layer of fluid and mucous. • Lung tumors have few or no cilia, little covering of fluid, and so are vulnerable to inhaled chemotherapy. • Inhaled carboplatin, inhaled doxorubicin, and inhaled temozolomide have been used for lung cancer and are quite effective. Lung Cancer and Lymphangioleiomyomatosis– Competitive Environment • Lung cancer: Inhaled biguanides work by a different mechanism than inhaled carboplatin, inhaled doxorubicin, and inhaled temozolomide, and so would be synergistic. In April 2010, Celgene invested $130 million in http://agios.com to discover and develop new molecules that have the same action on tumors as biguanides. • Lymphangioleiomyomatosis responds to oral rapamycin (sirolimus). But oral rapamycin is toxic to the lung, causes interstitial pneumonitis, and could not be safely administered by inhalation. Cancer Cell Metabolism Cancer cells and normal cells are metabolically different. Ninety years ago Otto Warburg found that while normal adult cells rely on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to generate energy, cancer cells revert to a more primitive method of metabolizing glucose, aerobic glycolysis, fermenting glucose into lactate. Warburg proposed that this phenomenon (now called the Warburg effect) is an early step on the road to cancer. The Warburg effect has been demonstrated to occur across a wide spectrum of tumors and is found in about 70% of cancers. Warburg Effect • Rather than convert glucose to pyruvate and burn the pyruvate with oxygen in the mitochondria, cancer cells convert the pyruvate to lactate in the cytoplasm outside the mitochondria, and no oxygen is used. The process yields only one-ninth the energy, four ATP molecules instead of 36, from each molecule of glucose. Oncogenic viruses enhance glucose uptake • affect cell proliferation pathways, such as the PI3K and AMPK – Rouse Sarcoma virus – Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpes virus (KSHV), the causative agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma – Human Papilloma Virus HPV – SV40 – Hepatitis C Virus HCV CT-PET Scanning • Clinicians exploit the Warburg effect in tumor cells (the increased rate of glycolysis) for detecting tumors by 18fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Warburg Effect and Insulin • Insulin used in 1925 to disrupt Warburg effect and shrink animal and human tumors • Charles H Best, co-discoverer of insulin, confirmed anti-tumor effect of insulin during 1950s. • Last publication by Lilly Research Labs in 1959 confirmed earlier work and showed insulin + glucagon was carcinostatic. Warburg Effect and Biguanides • To disrupt the Warburg effect, cancer researchers are now investigating existing drugs that are used in treating type 2 diabetes. Several studies have found that an oral biguanide widely used for diabetes, metformin, may help in preventing cancer as well as in improving outcomes when used with other cancer therapies. Biguanide Anti-Cancer effect mechanism • AMPK activation and mTOR inhibition • Stimulation of tumor suppressor gene LKB1 • lowering insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) levels. Metformin, for example, decreases blood glucose, and, as a secondary effect, decreases insulin levels as well. Metformin and Cancer I • In diabetics who used metformin and comparators (diabetics who had not used metformin): • Lung cancer incidence – 0.9% in diabetics on metformin – 1.4% in comparators • Mortality from cancer – 3% in diabetics on metformin – 6.1% in comparators • The effect of metformin on cancer incidence and mortality was significant (p < 0.001). – Data from Libby G, Donnelly LA, Donnan PT, Alessi DR, Morris AD, Evans JM (2009) New users of metformin are at low risk of incident cancer: a cohort study among people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 32: 1620-1625 Metformin and Cancer II • Kaplan-Meier plot with 95% CIs showing time to cancer among metformin users and comparators. (from Libby G, Donnelly LA, Donnan PT, Alessi DR, Morris AD, Evans JM (2009) New users of metformin are at low risk of incident cancer: a cohort study among people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 32: 1620-1625) Metformin and Lung Cancer • Oral Metformin significantly improves chemotherapy outcomes and survival for patients who have non-small cell lung cancer with diabetes. The Overall survival for Group A (metformin) was significantly longer than that for Group B (insulin; P = 0.034) and Group C (other drugs; P = 0.003). (Tan BX, Yao WX, Ge J, Peng XC, Du XB, Zhang R, Yao B, Xie K, Li LH, Dong H, Gao F, Zhao F, Hou JM, Su JM, Liu JY. Prognostic influence of metformin as first-line chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes. Cancer. 2011 Apr 26. doi: 10.1002/cncr.26151. [Epub ahead of print]) Biguanide delivery mode • Inhalation aerosol is the preferred route of administration – Limits risk of systemic side effects associated with biguanides because of low inhaled dose • Lactic acidosis is main systemic side effect – More predictable dose to the lung – Established mode of delivery for a range of therapeutic agents – Precedence exists for use • Cytotoxic agents have been tested via this route specifically as lung cancer therapy • Various animal studies and clinical case report studies have been conducted • Biguanides should have a long lung residence time Inhaled and oral dosing • Typical inhaled asthma medications are about 10-100 µg day, inhaled insulin requires 1-10 mg per day. • Metformin is taken orally twice daily by diabetics, maximum total dose 2.5 g/day. • This oral dose is associated with reduced cancer incidence but higher doses cannot be used because of a serious side effect, lactic acidosis. Inhaled Metformin disadvantage • Reducing the inhaled dose of an oral drug by a factor of 10-20 typically results in the same local concentration in the airways as by oral administration. So just to equal what the oral dose of metformin would "deliver" to the airways, a subject would need to inhale 125-250 mgs metformin per day; or, if broken into 3 doses a day, 4080 mg/dose. • Delivering this much metformin powder to the lung is at the upper limit of acceptability, and would result in reduced compliance, bronchospasm and cough. Inhaled Buformin advantage • Buformin has eight times the potency of metformin. Using inhaled buformin as opposed to metformin, one could reduce the dose by a factor of eight. The usual maximum oral dose of buformin is 300 mg per day. Dropping the inhaled dose by a factor of 10 to 20, three doses per day inhaled buformin could be given at 5mg to 10 mg per dose, much less than metformin. • This dose of buformin, 15mg to 30mg per day, would be highly unlikely to produce lactic acidosis, the main biguanide complication. In one report, the toxic oral buformin dose was 329 ± 30mg/day in 24 patients who developed lactic acidosis on buformin. Another group of 24 patients on 258 ± 25mg/day buformin did not develop lactic acidosis. • In other words, one can increase the inhaled buformin dose ten times above what would be needed to treat lung cancer or lymphangioleiomyomatosis and still be well below the systemic toxic dose. This is a key strength of buformin. Buformin Dosage 400 Mg 300 200 100 0 INHALED THERAPEUTIC BUFORMIN DOSE TOXIC Long buformin lung residence time • Buformin has an octanol/water partition coefficient (log P) of -1.2 and is hydrophilic. Hydrophilic small molecules with a log P less than 0 have a mean lung half life (t½) of about one hour. • Long lung residence time of buformin could be increased even further with an appropriate formulation. • John S. Patton, C. Simone Fishburn, and Jeffry G. Weers. The Lungs as a Portal of Entry for Systemic Drug Delivery. Proc Am Thorac Soc Vol 1. pp 338–344, 2004. Buformin – Competitive Advantages • Repurposed drug with known systemic safety profile • Well established Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control profile • Inexpensive supply with Drug Master Files on file • Non-toxic compared to vast majority of anticancer agents • Readily administered by inhalation aerosol Fermata Pharma – Intellectual Property • Broad claims filed on use of biguanides in lung cancer and lymphangioleiomyomatosis – US Patent 9,248,110, Compositions and Methods of Treating and Preventing Lung Cancer and Lymphangioleiomyomatosis, issued February 2, 2016 Risks • Does buformin exhibit adequate potency? • Is buformin rapidly and completely absorbed from the lungs? – Would diminish targeting benefit of inhaled therapy – Would increase risk of systemic side effects • Formulation? – Risks lessened through appropriate formulation – Potential use of Dry Powder Inhaler • Unacceptable pulmonary toxicology? • Emerging novel therapies? Inhaled Buformin: Obstacles • As John Lisman has already noted: • It is expensive to create the necessary dossier for a marketing authorization • Investment in clinical evidence of any new application of old active substances can seem to be a waste of money • Regulatory systems do not allow easy access for new indications for old active substances Other uses of inhaled buformin • We will seek FDA approval for only the narrowest uses of inhaled buformin: treatment of lymphangioleiomyomatosis and stage I localized lung cancer. But we will later seek approval for other uses also covered by our IP: – Treatment of all stages of lung cancer – Tumor radiation sensitization in lung cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy – Prevention of lung cancer in heavy smokers – Treatment of lung metastases Alternate Formulations • For lung cancer treatment and prevention, it could be desirable to have a buformin formulation and special inhaler that produce an aerosol mimicking the distribution of cigarette and cigar smoke in the lung. • This refinement might not be necessary because of the high dose of buformin that can be delivered to the lung by inhalation without systemic toxicity. Inhaled buformin clinical trial • FDA will probably allow human testing of inhaled buformin in lung cancer patients after animal PK and toxicology studies. Biguanides and buformin in particular have no lung toxicity after decades of use in millions of patients. Timetable and Expenditures Valuation and Exits Phase II Prelim Efficacy? Finalize delivery mode/dose Value Phase I Tolerability Patent Issue Toxicology POC Initial $ infusion 2nd $ infusion Tranche, Grant? 3rd $ infusion Cost/Time Exit point 10x ROI? Clinical Trials • The clinical program includes three clinical studies: two dose ranging studies and one two year safety and efficacy study. Each of the studies is briefly described below. – Phase one is a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, two-period, crossover, study of 3 daily doses daily of buformin inhalation aerosol and placebo administered via inhaler to 20 normal adults. A double-dummy design allows additional insurance against bias or placebo effect. All patients are given both placebo and active doses in alternating periods of time during the study. – Phase two is a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, two-period, crossover, study of 20 daily doses of buformin inhalation aerosol and placebo administered via inhaler to 20 adults with localized lung cancer. – Phase three is a two year, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group safety and survival study of buformin inhalation aerosol and placebo administered via inhaler. A total of 199 stage I (localized lung cancer) patients will enter this study. The probability is 80 percent that the study will detect a treatment difference at a two sided 5% significance level, if there is 40% survival in the placebo group and 80% survival in the buformin group. This is based on the assumption that the accrual period will be 24 Months and the median survival is 13 Months. The total number of deaths will be 65. Total Cost • At $10,000 per patient, plus cost of formulating buformin aerosol, manufacture of inhalers, animal toxicity and dosage studies in one rodent and one non-rodent species to obtain IND, total cost of study: • $3.9 million Summary Our mission is to provide a new form of chemotherapy for lung cancer and lymphangioleiomyomatosis: an inhaled biguanide, buformin. This drug, used to treat type II diabetes, has anticancer activity and could be delivered by inhalation to a lung tumor in much higher concentrations than can be administered orally. Another biguanide, oral metformin, is now the most widely prescribed anti-diabetic drug in the world; in the United States alone, more than 40 million prescriptions were filled in 2008 for its generic formulations. Biguanide anti-diabetic agents inhibit cancer by changing the metabolism of cancer cells, which are metabolically different from normal cells. Several studies have found that metformin and other biguanides in vitro and in vivo may help in preventing cancer as well as in improving outcomes when used with standard cancer therapies. Cancer of the lung and lymphangioleiomyomatosis could be very amenable to treatment with inhaled buformin. When administered as an aerosol by inhalation, buformin could infiltrate lung tissue in much higher concentrations than could be achieved orally, rendering the pathologic cells much more vulnerable to treatment. Inhaled buformin would be synergistic with other forms of chemotherapy. Inhaled buformin could also be used to prevent lung cancer in high risk individuals. References •Algire C, Zakikhani M, Blouin MJ, Shuai JH, Pollak M (2008) Metformin attenuates the stimulatory effect of a high-energy diet on in vivo LLC1 carcinoma growth. Endocr Relat Cancer 15: 833-839 •Antonoff MB, D'Cunha J. Teaching an old drug new tricks: metformin as a targeted therapy for lung cancer. 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