a study of botensilimab and balstilimab for the treatment of colorectal cancer

Conditions: Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Summary: this is an open-label, phase 2, multicenter study to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profiles of botensilimab as monotherapy and in combination with balstilimab or standard-of-care treatments in participants with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

this study will enroll adult participants with a confirmed diagnosis of unresectable metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma (crc) who have had prior chemotherapy for metastatic or recurrent crc. this study will consist of 5 cohorts. in the first and second cohorts, participants will receive 1 of 2 different doses of botensilimab intravenously (iv) and balstilimab iv. in the third and fourth cohorts, participants will receive 1 of 2 different doses of botensilimab. in the fifth cohort, participants will receive standard of care consisting of the investigator's choice of regorafenib or trifluridine and tipiracil.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: 1. histologically confirmed diagnosis of unresectable and metastatic crc adenocarcinoma. 2. the tumor must have been assessed for microsatellite instability high (msi-h) or deficient mismatch repair (dmmr) status per a standard local testing method. 3. voluntarily agree to participate by giving signed, dated, and written informed consent prior to any study-specific procedures. 4. must have received at least 1 prior chemotherapy regimen for metastatic or recurrent crc as follows where approved and locally available in the country of randomization: 1. standard chemotherapy/therapy including all of the following agents (if eligible and no contraindication): a fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan, oxaliplatin, bevacizumab or biosimilars, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody (cetuximab or panitumumab), and v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog b1 inhibitor/braf (encorafenib), if applicable. 2. participants must have progressed while receiving or within 3 months of the last administration of their last line of standard therapy or be unable to tolerate any of these standard treatments. 3. participants who received adjuvant chemotherapy and had recurrence during or within 6 months of completion of the adjuvant chemotherapy can count this as a line of therapy. 5. measurable disease on baseline imaging per recist 1.1. 6. life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks. 7. eastern cooperative oncology group performance status of 0 or 1. 8. adequate organ function. 9. women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at screening and prior to study drug administration. 10. male participants with a female partner(s) of childbearing potential must agree to use highly effective contraceptive measures throughout the study, starting with the screening visit through 2-6 months, depending upon assigned study treatment. males with pregnant partners must agree to use a condom; no additional method of contraception is required for the pregnant partner. 11. no growth factor support, transfusions, or albumin administration within 14 days of randomization of study treatment. exclusion criteria: 1. tumor is msi-h/dmmr per a standard local testing method. 2. received programmed cell death protein 1, pd-(l)1, or ctla-4 therapies including any immune checkpoint inhibitor or experimental immunologic agents. 3. received regorafenib or trifluridine/tipiracil as prior therapy(ies). 4. partial or complete bowel obstruction within the last 3 months, signs/symptoms of bowel obstruction, or known radiologic evidence of impending obstruction. 5. refractory ascites. 6. liver metastases by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. note: participants with definitively treated liver metastases (this includes surgical resection, including microwave or radiofrequency ablation, or stereotactic body radiation therapy, but not yttrium-90 or chemotherapy alone) may be eligible if they were treated at least 6 months prior to enrollment with no evidence of metastatic disease in the liver on subsequent imaging. 7. clinically significant (that is, active) cardiovascular disease. 8. active brain metastases or leptomeningeal metastases with certain exceptions. 9. concurrent malignancy (present during screening) requiring treatment or history of prior malignancy active within 2 years prior to the first dose of study treatment. participants with history of prior early-stage basal/squamous cell skin cancer, low-risk prostate cancer eligible for active surveillance, or noninvasive or in situ cancers who have undergone definitive treatment at any time are also eligible. 10. treatment with one of the following classes of drugs within the delineated time window prior to cycle 1 day 1 (c1d1): 1. cytotoxic, targeted therapy or other investigational therapy within 3 weeks. 2. monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, radioimmunoconjugates, or similar therapy, within 4 weeks, or 5 half-lives, whichever is shorter. 3. small molecule/tyrosine kinase inhibitors within 2 weeks or less than 5 circulating half-lives of investigational drug. 11. known allergy or hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or any of the study drug excipients. 12. any evidence of current interstitial lung disease (ild) or pneumonitis, or prior history of ild or non-infectious pneumonitis requiring glucocorticoids. 13. history of allogeneic organ transplant, stem cell transplant, or bone marrow transplant. 14. psychiatric or substance abuse disorders that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the study. 15. participants with a condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (\> 10 milligrams \[mg\] daily prednisone equivalent) within 14 days or another immunosuppressive medication within 30 days of the first dose of study treatment. inhaled or topical steroids, and adrenal replacement steroid doses (≤ 10 mg daily prednisone equivalent) are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease. 16. active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease that required systemic treatment within 2 years of the start of study treatment (that is, with use of disease-modifying agents or immunosuppressive drugs). 17. history or current evidence of any condition, co-morbidity, therapy, any active infections, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the participant's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the participant to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. 18. previous sars-cov-2 infection within 10 days for mild or asymptomatic infections or 20 days for severe/critical illness prior to c1d1. 19. uncontrolled infection with human immunodeficiency virus. 20. known to be positive for hepatitis b virus (hbv) surface antigen, or any other positive test for hbv indicating acute or chronic infection. 21. known active hepatitis c virus as determined by positive serology and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. 22. has urine protein ≥ 1 gram/24 hour. 23. uncontrolled hypertension: systolic pressure ≥ 150 millimeters of mercury (mmhg) or diastolic pressure ≥ 90 mmhg on repeated measurements that cannot be managed by standard antihypertension medications ≤ 28 days before the first dose of study drug(s). 24. participants who require treatment with strong cytochrome p450 3a4 inducers or inhibitors. 25. has presence of gastrointestinal condition, for example, malabsorption, that might affect the absorption of study drug(s). 26. non-healing wound(s). 27. symptomatic active bleeding.

Keywords: open label botensilimab agen1181 balstilimab agen2034 colorectal cancer regorafenib trifluridine tipiracil lonsurf immunotherapy pd-1 ctla-4 fc-enhanced agenus mss microsatellite stable