TRACON Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel targeted therapeutics for cancer, wet age-related macular degeneration and fibrotic diseases, has reported top-line results from a randomized phase II clinical trial of TRC105 in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) funded and conducted by the Clinical Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 

In the trial, TRC105 combined with Avastin (bevacizumab) was compared to single agent Avastin in a total of 101 patients with recurrent GBM following chemoradiation. The trial was designed to detect a three-month improvement in progression free survival (PFS), the primary endpoint, from the expected value of 3.45 months with single agent Avastin. Top-line data indicate that the combination of TRC105 and Avastin did not improve median PFS versus single agent Avastin in recurrent GBM patients, although the combination was associated with a non-significant increase in overall survival. Detailed data and the associated correlative analyses are expected to be presented at an oncology conference later this year. 

“Glioblastoma is a very challenging indication for drug development,” said Charles Theuer, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of TRACON. “We are grateful to the National Cancer Institute for sponsoring the trial and to the patients and providers who participated, and look forward to the detailed survival analysis from this trial, as well as data from multiple company-sponsored trials of TRC105 in other indications later this year.” 

TRC105 is a novel, clinical stage antibody to endoglin, a protein overexpressed on proliferating endothelial cells that is essential for angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation. TRC105 is currently being studied in one phase III and multiple phase II clinical trials sponsored by TRACON or the National Cancer Institute for the treatment of solid tumor types in combination with VEGF inhibitors. The ophthalmic formulation of TRC105, DE-122, is currently in a phase I/II trial for patients with wet AMD. TRC205, a second generation antibody to endoglin, is undergoing preclinical testing in models of fibrosis.