eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFTR) is proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration between their leading cancer treatment and Stanford Medicine. Jennifer Caswell-Jin, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford Medicine, will serve as principal investigator for a clinical trial evaluating zotatifin in pre-operative settings for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer patients.
This trial is based on the work of Christina Curtis, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Biomedical Data Science, and Director of Artificial Intelligence and Cancer Genomics at Stanford Medicine, and marks a major milestone in the development of integrative subgroups of breast cancer treatments.
Dr. Caswell-Jin has highlighted the long-term risk of distant relapse in ER+ breast cancer, which is further increased in patients with high-risk genomic profiles. Professor Curtis and her team have identified eight subtypes of ER+ breast cancer, four of which are at high risk of distant relapse.
This clinical trial aims to investigate the effects of zotatifin in tumor growth compared to the standard of care, in patients with these specific high-risk genomic profiles and standard risk. The trial aims to develop precision approaches to improve breast cancer outcomes and reduce the risk of relapse.
eFFECTOR Therapeutics is excited to announce a new collaboration with Stanford University to explore the clinical potential of zotatifin in treating breast cancer. This investigator-led study will provide an opportunity to utilize cutting-edge genomic predictive technologies to improve early targeted cancer therapies and potentially delay or prevent future relapse.
With this exciting new collaboration, eFFECTOR hopes to develop better treatment regimens that can provide improved clinical benefits for patients, in contrast to the current targeted therapies that fail too many people.
Dr. Curtis and Dr. Caswell-Jin have utilized genomic data to identify specific subgroups of breast cancer with an increased risk of relapse after endocrine therapy or chemotherapy. To provide potential clinical benefit to these high-risk patients, an umbrella, randomized pre-operative trial will be conducted to investigate the effects of zotatifin plus fulvestrant in ER+/HER2- breast cancer.
This trial will be conducted in two cohorts: one with overexpression of cyclin D1 and fibroblast growth factor 3, and another with overexpression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1. The primary objective of this study is to assess the change in tumor proliferative status, as measured by Ki67 staining, 14 days after preoperative treatment with either regimen.
About Zotatifin
Zotatifin is an innovative small molecule inhibitor designed to target a network of cancer-driving proteins, including Cyclins D and E, CDKs 2, 4 and 6, select Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and KRAS. Our clinical trials are currently exploring the potential of zotatifin in treating solid tumors, with promising results so far. With its sequence-selective ability to suppress expression of these proteins, zotatifin is a powerful weapon in the fight against cancer.
About eFFECTOR Therapeutics
eFFECTOR is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is revolutionizing the treatment of cancer with the development of a new class of drugs known as STRIs. These drugs target the eIF4F complex and its activating kinase, MNK, which are key components of the PI3K-AKT and RAS-MEK pathways that are frequently mutated in cancer.
eFFECTOR’s lead product candidate, tomivosertib, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b clinical trial in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. In addition, eFFECTOR is exploring the potential of another STRI called Zotatifin in biomarker-positive solid tumors such as ER+ breast cancer and KRAS-mutant NSCLC.
Moreover, eFFECTOR has a global collaboration with Pfizer to develop inhibitors of a third target, eIF4E. With these innovative treatments, eFFECTOR is making great strides towards improving the outcomes of cancer patients.