Lantern Pharma Receives Regulatory Approval to Expand Harmonic™ Clinical Trial for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Never-Smokers into Japan and Taiwan

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  • Approximately 33% of all non-small cell lung cancer patients in East Asia are never smokers – a growing and unaddressed patient population.
  • Dr. Yashushi Goto a leading lung cancer clinician-scientist at the renowned National Cancer Center of Japan will be a lead investigator.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN), an artificial intelligence (“AI”) company developing targeted and transformative cancer therapies using its proprietary RADR® AI and machine learning (“ML”) platform with multiple clinical-stage drug programs, announced today that – the company has received regulatory approval to expand its Harmonic™ trial, a Phase 2 clinical study evaluating LP-300 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in never-smokers in both Japan and Taiwan. Approximately one third of all lung cancer patients in East Asia are never-smokers and the proportion of lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) has been increasing gradually over time, according to a publication in Translational Lung Cancer Research (1).

The approval to proceed with the Phase 2 clinical trials in Japan and Taiwan are expected to accelerate the collection of patient and response data needed for the next-stage of evaluation and development of LP-300, a therapeutic for the treatment of relapsed and inoperable primary adenocarcinoma of the lung given in combination with chemotherapy Additionally, it may also bring a needed therapeutic option for LCINS diagnosed patients in Japan and Taiwan, where one-third of all lung cancer diagnoses are made among those who have never smoked. Finally, Lantern believes that this improves the positioning for drug-candidate LP-300 to develop collaborative and co-development partnerships with global biopharma companies with a primary focus in serving the Asian markets.

LCINS are histologically, mutationally, and epidemiologically distinct from smoking-related lung cancers and occur almost exclusively as adenocarcinomas and most commonly in women and individuals of Asian ancestry.(2) LCINS are highly enriched for alterations in the tyrosine kinase (TK) genes, have low tumor mutation burden (TMB) and low rates of PD-L1 expression.(2) Many of these factors may provide clarity on why LP-300 seems to have a distinct mechanism of action and anti-cancer activity in tumors among LCINS patients. Lantern believes that this unique mechanism of action and historically observed anti-tumor activity may ultimately prove to be a useful option for this growing class of patients globally.

Dr. Yashushi Goto, a physician and researcher focused on lung cancer at the National Cancer Center of Japan, has been watching the development of LP-300 and the Harmonic™ trial in the United States with interest. Dr. Goto will now lead the trial in Japan, where the incidence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in never-smokers is double or more than that of the United States. Dr. Goto stated, “LP-300 represents a promising new treatment option for never-smokers with advanced NSCLC harboring driver mutations like EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and MET, who have limited choices after progressing on targeted therapies. The Harmonic trial brings renewed hope to those facing this devastating disease, especially in East Asia, where EGFR mutations are highly prevalent. I am deeply gratified to contribute to the development of this innovative therapy that could potentially transform the treatment landscape for never-smokers battling advanced lung cancer."

The Harmonic™ trial (NCT05456256) is a Phase 2 clinical trial that is assessing the effect of Lantern’s investigational new drug LP-300 in combination with standard-of-care (SOC) chemotherapy, pemetrexed and carboplatin, on the overall and progression-free survival of never smoker patients with advanced NSCLC. The study has been designed as a 90 patient trial with approximately 2/3rds (60) of the patients receiving LP-300 with a chemotherapy doublet and the remaining 1/3rd (30) receiving the standard of care chemotherapy doublet alone. In a previous multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial, a subset of never smoker NSCLC patients who received LP-300 with chemotherapy showed increased overall and two-year survival of 91% and 125%, respectively, compared to patients who only received chemotherapy. In addition, LP-300 has been administered in multiple clinical trials to more than 1,000 people and has been generally well tolerated. Additional information on the Harmonic™ trial can be found at the Harmonic™ clinical trial website, on ClinicalTrials.gov, or on the first-of-its-kind Harmonic™ trial iPhone app, which is focused on education & awareness for never smoker NSCLC patients and the NSCLC community.

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References:

  1. Zhou F, Zhou C. Lung cancer in never smokers-the East Asian experience. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2018 Aug;7(4):450-463. https://doi.org/10.21037/tlcr.2018.05.14. PMID: 30225210; PMCID: PMC6131183
  2. LoPiccolo, J., Gusev, A., Christiani, D.C. et al. Lung cancer in patients who have never smoked — an emerging disease. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 21, 121–146 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-023-00844-0

About Lung Cancer in Never Smokers:

NSCLC presents differently in never smokers, which are defined by the CDC as a person who has smoked 100 cigarettes or less in their life, compared to smokers. These differences are believed to be due to a higher percentage of genetic mutations in a family of cancer-promoting genes called Tyrosine Kinases (TK). Changes in TK genes, such as EGFR, ALK, ROS and MET, can contribute to the development of healthy cells into cancer cells, leading to tumor formation and growth. LP-300’s intended mechanism is to work together with chemotherapy by strongly interacting in the TK gene pathways, interrupting their activity to slow or prevent tumor growth and spread.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in the US, with over 200,000 patients diagnosed annually. Historically, never smokers with NSCLC make up about 15-20% of all lung cancer patients, representing an approximate annual market potential of $1.5 to $2.0 billion.

About Lantern Pharma:

Lantern Pharma (NASDAQ: LTRN) is an AI company transforming the cost, pace, and timeline of oncology drug discovery and development. Our proprietary AI and machine learning (ML) platform, RADR®, leverages over 60 billion oncology-focused data points and a library of 200+ advanced ML algorithms to help solve billion-dollar, real-world problems in oncology drug development. By harnessing the power of AI and with input from world-class scientific advisors and collaborators, we have accelerated the development of our growing pipeline of therapies that span multiple cancer indications, including both solid tumors and blood cancers and an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) program. On average, our newly developed drug programs have been advanced from initial AI insights to first-in-human clinical trials in 2-3 years and at approximately $1.0 - 2.5 million per program.

Our lead development programs include a Phase 2 clinical program and multiple Phase 1 clinical trials. We have also established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Starlight Therapeutics, to focus exclusively on the clinical execution of our promising therapies for CNS and brain cancers, many of which have no effective treatment options. Our AI-driven pipeline of innovative product candidates is estimated to have a combined annual market potential of over $15 billion USD and have the potential to provide life-changing therapies to hundreds of thousands of cancer patients across the world.

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Source: Lantern Pharma Inc.

Released April 22, 2024