
Cardiff drops its prostate cancer program, sending shares into a tailspin
Cardiff Oncology is joining the league of companies that have decided to scrap one of its program, leading the company’s stock to take a nose dive on Tuesday.
The company announced that it will no longer fund its clinical trials for prostate cancer and instead will focus its efforts on pancreatic and metastatic colorectal cancer.
The company is testing its lead candidate, onvansertib, a PLK1 inhibitor, along with the standard of care in a variety of indications.
“Following a strategic review of its clinical data in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), as well as the current and projected therapeutic landscape in this indication, the company has decided it will not independently fund any future clinical activities in mCRPC,” the company said in a press statement.
In February of 2021, the company presented Phase II data on the mCRPC Trial showing a two-fold increase in efficacy with onvansertib when the number of days of treatment with the drug was increased from five to 14 in a 21-day cycle.
Next up, the company is planning a randomized Phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of onvansertib in combination with standard-of-care, which is FOLFIRI/bevacizumab, in second-line KRAS/NRAS-mutated cases of metastatic colorectal cancer. The study, called ONSEMBLE, will enroll 150 patients, with the primary endpoint being the objective response rate.
The San Diego-based company expects the trial to start in Q4 2022, with topline data expected in the second half of 2024. The company believes that the data may pave the way for accelerated approval for the drug in mCRC.
Meanwhile, the company also shared data from its ongoing Phase 1b/II trial in KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer which showed durable responses, with a median duration of response of 11.7 months for all doses and 12.5 months for the recommended Phase II dose.
The company shares $CRDF plummeted 40% on Tuesday.
A lot of companies have been tapering their pipelines as cost-cutting measures. Rubius Therapeutics announced yesterday that it had decided to scrap two of its leading programs in solid tumors.
Cardiff, however, said its cash reserves will fund the company operations into 2025.