Thinly traded nano cap BioLineRx Ltd. (BLRX -6.8%) is down on a 10x surge in volume, albeit on turnover of only 527K shares, in apparent reaction to results from an open-label Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating the combination of BL-8040 and Merck’s (MRK -0.8%) Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in heavily pretreated pancreatic cancer patients (their cancer is highly resistant to treatment). The data are being presented at the SITC Annual Meeting in Maryland.
In 15 evaluable patients, there was one partial responder and two with stable cancer, implying a disease control rate (DCR) of 20%. Median overall time to progression was two months while median overall survival was seven months. 12 patients progressed.
Investors appear to be reacting to data presented at ESMO in Munich last month that showed a 34.5% DCR.
Topline data from another Phase 2, COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202, evaluating the triplet therapy of BL-8040, Keytruda and chemo in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients should be available by year-end.
BL-8040 is a short peptide that functions as a high-affinity antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity.
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