Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Announces Collaboration With Zhejiang Haichang Biotechnology

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Zhejiang Haichang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Haichang), to develop RX-0201 (Archexin) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, Haichang will develop a nano-liposomal formulation of RX-0201 using its proprietary QTsome technology and conduct certain preclinical and clinical activities through completion of a Phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial for the treatment of HCC. Any clinical trials conducted by Haichang will be designed to meet both US and Chinese regulatory requirements. Haichang will fund all research and development activities through completion of the Phase IIa clinical trial.

The parties will share in an agreed ratio downstream licensing fees and royalties paid by third parties in connection with the further development and commercialization of the nano-liposomal formulation of RX-0201 for the treatment of HCC.

“We are delighted to enter into this collaboration to take RX-0201 forward in hepatocellular carcinoma,” said Peter D. Suzdak, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Rexahn. “We are impressed with Haichang’s QTsome technology. It has the potential to target RX-0201 to the liver and to promote uptake into cancer cells to enhance efficacy. We are also very pleased to have non-dilutive funding to take the program through Phase IIa proof-of-concept studies.”

“The incidence of liver cancer is growing worldwide, and especially in Asia,” said Dr. Ben Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Haichang. “There are very few treatment options for patients and unfortunately, the prognosis for patients with advanced disease is very poor. Akt-1 is an important signaling protein in liver cancer and we are excited about the potential for RX-0201. It is an ideal candidate for our liposomal technology, and we look forward to advancing the development of RX-0201 in collaboration with Rexahn.”

“While we continue to be encouraged by the safety and efficacy of RX-0201, the treatment landscape for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has significantly changed over the past two years with the approval of three new therapies by the FDA. This will limit the commercial viability of RX-0201 in mRCC. For this reason, Rexahn has decided to stop the development of RX-0201 for mRCC,” said Lisa Nolan, PhD, Chief Business Officer for Rexahn. “The Haichang collaboration allows Rexahn to capitalize on the clinical data already generated in Phase I and Phase II clinical studies and change the focus of the RX-0201 program to hepatocellular carcinoma using non-dilutive funding to take the program through Phase IIa proof-of-concept studies while retaining the potential for future milestones/royalties for the product. This will also allow Rexahn to focus its own resources on progressing RX-3117 and Supinoxin™ (RX-5902) through Phase II clinical development.”

In connection with the agreement with Haichang, Rexahn plans to discontinue the internally funded programs of Archexin and will cease enrollment in the current Phase IIa clinical study of Archexin in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Patients currently enrolled in the trial will continue to be followed.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide and the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Each year approximately 780,000 new cases of liver cancer are diagnosed worldwide and over 740,000 people will die of the disease. The incidence of liver cancer in the U.S. has more than tripled since 1980. It is estimated that there will be approximately 41,000 new cases of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer and 29,000 deaths from these diseases in the US in 2017. The majority of these cases are caused by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is expected to contribute to increased rates of liver cancer in the US in the foreseeable future. Outside the US, the incidence of liver cancer is approximately 40,000 in Europe and 36,000 in Japan. Incidence is particularly high in China due to the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections and the incidence is estimated at 260,000 in 2017.

Treatment options are limited for patients with advanced liver cancer, which account for approximately 30% of newly diagnosed patients. Nexavar (sorafenib) is approved for first line treatment. Supportive care is the standard of care for second line treatment. Opdivo (nivolumab) has recently been approved for patients who have disease progression after treatment with Nexavar, but only 14% of patients respond to treatment. Overall, the prognosis for patients with advanced liver cancer is typically very poor.

Zhejiang Haichang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is a privately owned specialized biotechnology company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company is focused on the development and manufacture of complex intravenous pharmaceutical products including liposome and microsphere products, primarily for cancer treatment. The company has strategic collaborations with Sinopharm and its liposomal doxorubicin product (Libaoduo) is marketed by Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-pharm Co., Ltd in China.

Haichang’s QTsome technology is a patented gene delivery technology that was co-developed with Professor Robert Lee at the Ohio State University. The technology is designed to enhance cellular uptake of large molecules, such as oligonucleotides (antisense, siRNA, and miRNA) and to target certain organs such as the liver where nanoparticles accumulate.

RX-0201 is an antisense oligonucleotide compound that is complementary to Akt-1 mRNA and highly selective for inhibiting its mRNA expression, which leads to reduced production of Akt-1. Akt-1 is a protein that is associated with cancer cell growth and proliferation and the development of resistance to certain anticancer agents. Akt-1 is over-expressed in multiple forms of cancer including hepatic, renal, breast, colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, prostate and melanoma. In a Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced cancers, RX-0201 appears to be safe and well tolerated with minimal side effects. The dose-limiting adverse event in such clinical trial was Grade 3 fatigue with no significant hematological abnormalities observed.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American:RNN) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel, targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s mission is to improve the lives of cancer patients by developing next generation cancer therapies that are designed to maximize efficacy while minimizing the toxicity and side effects traditionally associated with cancer treatment. Rexahn’s product candidates work by targeting and neutralizing specific proteins believed to be involved in the complex biological cascade that leads to cancer cell growth. Preclinical studies show that certain of Rexahn’s product candidates may be effective against multiple types of cancer, including drug resistant cancers and difficult-to-treat cancers, and others may augment the effectiveness of current FDA-approved cancer treatments. The company has a broad oncology pipeline that includes three anti-cancer compounds currently in clinical development: RX-3117, RX-5902 (Supinoxin) and RX-0201 (Archexin), and a novel nanopolymer-based drug delivery platform technology that may increase the bio-availability of FDA-approved chemotherapies. For more information about the company and its oncology programs, please visit www.rexahn.com.