Following the positive conclusion of a PI/IIa trial in Europe with 2OHOA in adult patients with advanced solid tumours, including malignant glioma, this paediatric trial will investigate the safety profile and preliminary anticancer activity of this novel cell-membrane modulator in children with malignant glioma and other advanced solid tumours.

Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Acton (MA, USA). May 29th 2018 –

Laminar Pharma, a pioneering clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of products modulating metabolism of membrane lipids based on the groundbreaking MLT platform, announces that the FDA has approved an IND for a paediatric trial entitled “a phase I study of 2-hydroxyoleic acid (2OHOA) in pediatric patients with malignant glioma and other advanced solid tumors”

This will be the first clinical study with 2OHOA in children with advanced malignant cancer and will be conducted in collaboration with two leading US paediatric clinical research institutions: Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The main objectives of this study are to determine the safety and tolerability of 2OHOA in paediatric population (under 18 years), to characterize the pharmacokinetic profiles in this population and to assess the preliminary anti-tumour efficacy of the product. The trial follows a standard 3+3 design in the dose escalation phase, where 9 to 18 patients will be recruited in three cohorts, and that will be followed by an expansion cohort with 10 additional patients.

High-grade gliomas (HGG) are relatively rare forms of paediatric brain tumours, constituting only 8–12% of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumours in children. The management of these tumours involves surgical resection to the extent feasible, as well as adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy. Even with these interventions, the prognosis for patients with these tumours is poor, with most patients succumbing to their disease within 12–18 months. The incidence rate of primary malignant and non-malignant brain and CNS tumours in the US in paediatric and adolescent population (0-19 years) is 5.42 cases per 100,000 for a total count of around 23,000 incident tumours per year, of which over 2.500 cases correspond to HGG.

Laminar Pharma is committed to advance the clinical development of this promising product and is excited about the prospect of providing a potential therapeutic alternative for children and adult patients with brain and other aggressive cancers.

The approval by the FDA of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for this paediatric trial in the US is a significant regulatory milestone for 2OHOA, (re)validating the extensive preclinical and clinical development that Laminar Pharma is carrying out with this innovative product.

A PIIb trial in adult patients with newly-diagnosed glioblastoma (CLINGLIO) with 2OHOA added to the current chemoradiation standard of care for this type of tumours is also planned to open within this year in leading Hospitals in Europe and Israel, following the award of an important H2020 grant by the European Commission to an international consortium lead by Laminar Pharma.