Trial in Progress: A Phase 2 Single Arm, Multicenter Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of the BiTE ® Antibody Blinatumomab (Blincyto) and Vincristine Sulfate Liposomal Injection (Marqibo) in Adult Subjects with Relapsed/Refractory Philadelphia Negative CD19+ Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Rizzieri David A , Leonard Jessica , Badar Talha , Chen Franklin L. , Shah Bijal D. , Li Zhiguo 
Published: November 2021

Background: Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is not curable with standard therapies. Effective outpatient treatment, allowing patients to maintain a good quality of life, while offering a meaningful chance of remission, is an appealing alternative to prolonged admission required for currently available multi-agent regimens.

Vincristine sulfate liposomal injection (Marqibo) was approved in 2012 for treatment Ph-ALL in second or greater relapse, originally developed to overcome pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic limitations of vincristine. Approved dosing is 2.25 mg/m 2 without a dose cap. Pre-clinical studies showed it increases plasma circulation time, increases tumor tissue delivery, accumulates in tumor tissue, and slowly releases vincristine in tumor tissues rather than into systemic circulation. In a phase 2 trial, as a weekly administered single agent, CR/CRi rate was 20%, with median duration of 23 weeks and overall response rate of 35%.

Blinatumomab is a murine recombinant single-chain antibody construct belonging to a class of bispecific T-cell engager (BITE) immuno-oncology. BITE molecules are designed to direct T-effector memory cells towards target cells, triggering cell-specific cytotoxicity. Blinatumomab specifically targets cells that express CD19 and the presence of both, CD19+ target cells and T cells are required for its cytotoxic activity. In previous phase 2 trials, responses to single agent blinatumomab in the relapsed setting were near 60%, although only 34% (44%, including partial and incomplete hematologic recovery) in the pivotal phase 3. Median duration of remission was only 7.3 months and half were very heavily pretreated.

Here, we describe a trial designed to target ALL cells with Marquibo as a microtubule inhibitor and blinatumomab as a BiTE immuno-oncology therapy and evaluate whether this combination results in an effective and safe therapeutic option for relapsed/refractory ALL patients.

We anticipate additive benefits of the regimen and define a clinically meaningful outcome as &gt;75% (CR/CRi) rate and median progression-free survival (PFS) of ≥1 year. This higher rate of response is expected as many patients are using blinatumomab at first relapse, and therefore we anticipate less prior therapy than overall in the pivotal phase 3 study. Further, we hypothesize that the combination will result in a high rate of response, allowing enhanced immunologic recovery.

Study Design/Methods: This is a phase 2, single arm, trial to evaluate the efficacy of blinatumomab and vincristine sulfate liposomal injection. The study will include up to 35 participants who are ≥18years of age, with Ph-, CD19+ ALL, and are either relapse or refractory to ≥2 prior regimens, have ≥5% blasts in the bone marrow or peripheral blood or persistent extranodal/marrow site or have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤2.

The active study period includes a 3-week screening phase, followed by a treatment period (induction phase and consolidation phase) of up to 58 weeks (6 cycles), a safety follow-up 30 days later and a long-term follow-up period of up to 18 months.

The induction phase includes two cycles of blinatumomab and liposomal vincristine. A single cycle is defined as 6 weeks in duration, which includes 4 weeks of continuous intravenous infusion (CIVI) of blinatumomab (initial dose 9 μg/day for first 7 days, then escalated to 28 μg/day starting on day 8 (week 2) through day 29 (week 4), followed by a 2-week treatment-free interval and 3 weekly doses of liposomal vincristine, administered intravenously at 2.25 mg/m 2, with no dose cap (per label),in the outpatient setting over 1 hour. Subjects who achieve at least stable disease within 2 induction cycles may continue to the consolidation phase to receive up to a maximum of 6 cycles under the same treatment schedule.

The primary objectives are to evaluate whether the combination will result in a median PFS of ≥1 year, and if the CR/CRi rate is ≥75% following 2 cycles and duration of remission. Secondary outcomes will include evaluation of the rate of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) and duration, the proportion of patients who are able to progress to allogeneic transplantation, the safety of blinatumomab and liposomal vincristine sulfate in combination and the effect of the combination and response on measures of immune reconstitution.

Figure 1 Figure 1.

Disclosures

Rizzieri: Karyopharm: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Stemline: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Acrotech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Teva: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AROG: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celltrion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Mustang: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria. Leonard: Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Research Funding. Badar: Pfizer Hematology-Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Shah: Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Expenses; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: Expenses; Incyte: Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Servier Genetics: Other; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Expenses, Research Funding; Precision Biosciences: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Expenses; Acrotech/Spectrum: Honoraria; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Other: Expenses; Amgen: Consultancy.