Rakuten Medical to Present Poster and Exhibit at ASCO 2024 Annual Meeting

Rakuten Medical, Inc., a biotechnology firm focused on precision cell-targeting therapies through its Alluminox™ platform, is set to present significant findings at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, from May 31 to June 4, 2024. The company will highlight interim results from an ongoing Phase 1b/2 study of photoimmunotherapy using ASP-1929 in conjunction with anti-PD-1 therapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

The ASCO presentation will include a poster showcasing the updated safety and efficacy results from this study. The abstract, titled "Recent safety and efficacy findings from a phase 1b/2 open-label combination study of ASP-1929 photoimmunotherapy with anti-PD-1 therapy in EGFR-expressing advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)," will be presented on June 2, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CDT in Exhibit Hall A. The first author of the abstract is David M. Cognetti from the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in the United States.

Additionally, Rakuten Medical will host a booth (#12118) in the Exhibit Hall from June 1-3, 2024, where the company’s medical team will be available to engage with ASCO participants.

A separate poster presentation by Japanese physicians will also take place during the ASCO meeting. This presentation will focus on new data from a multi-institutional observational study on the efficacy and safety of photoimmunotherapy for recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Japan. This abstract, titled "Photoimmunotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma recurrence," is scheduled for June 2, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CDT in Exhibit Hall A, and the first author is Takeshi Shinozaki from the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Japan.

Rakuten Medical's Alluminox™ platform is a cancer therapy technology consisting of a drug component and a light source device. The drug component includes a targeting moiety conjugated with dyes that selectively bind to cancer cells. The light source then activates the drug, which leads to targeted cell necrosis. This process not only kills the cancer cells but may also prompt an immune response due to the immunogenic nature of the cell death.

ASP-1929, the leading drug developed on the Alluminox platform, is an antibody-dye conjugate combining cetuximab and IRDye® 700DX. It targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), prevalent in various solid tumors such as head and neck, breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Once bound to the cancer cells, ASP-1929 is activated by red light, inducing a reaction that damages the cancer cell membranes, resulting in selective necrosis. ASP-1929 has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA in January 2018 and is currently undergoing a global Phase 3 clinical trial for recurrent head and neck cancer. In Japan, it received marketing approval in September 2020 for unresectable locally advanced or recurrent head and neck cancer. However, it remains investigational outside of Japan as it has not been approved by any other regulatory authorities.

Rakuten Medical continues to advance its mission to combat cancer through innovative treatments, aiming to make these therapies accessible worldwide. The company maintains a global presence with offices in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, and India. The upcoming ASCO presentations are a testament to their ongoing commitment to cancer research and development.