A number of biotech companies, including Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRNE), have staked a lot on CAR-T therapies for cancer patients.
Yesterday, Sorrento reported initial results from the Hepatic ImmunoTherapy for MetastasesSurefire (HITM-SURE) study, a Phase 1b single-arm trial testing its autologous anti-CEA CAR-T cells given regionally by hepatic artery infusions (HAIs) via pressure-directed microvalve infusion (MVI) technology (Surefire Infusion System) in heavily pre-treated patients with refractory CEA-positive liver metastases (LM).
“In 15 patients in the Phase 1 and 1b studies, our CAR-T hepatic artery infusion method has resulted in highly selective delivery of CAR-T to liver tumors, with avoidance of severe cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. We have observed encouraging clinical outcomes in heavily pre-treated patients. Future trials will test our novel delivery strategies for pancreatic and peritoneal tumors, in addition to novel combinatorial approaches to reverse organ-specific immunosuppressive pathways. We have developed a pipeline and delivery methods specifically tailored to address barriers to effective solid tumor CAR-T therapy, including the use of Surefire’s pressure-directed microvalve infusion technology to help overcome the high interstitial pressure of these tumors,” said Dr. Steven Katz, the Principal Investigator of the Study.
In reaction, H.C. Wainwright analyst Ram Selvaraju reiterated a Buy rating on Sorrento shares, with a price target of $38, which implies an upside of 426% from current levels. (To watch Selvaraju’s track record, click here)
Selvaraju commented, “We note that pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly solid tumor malignancies and long-term survival benefit in this context could prove groundbreaking; thus, we feel it should be very intriguing to see whether the results from upcoming Phase 2 liver metastasis HITM studies can confirm the encouraging results from this small number of patients. The data from the HITM-SURE trial follows release of results from two other trials. In one of these previous trials, a patient survived 51 months following three anti-CEA CAR-T HAI cycles and a patient from another trial is alive 25 months after treatment.”
