UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 11, 2014
ONCOTHYREON INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware |
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001-33882 |
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26-0868560 |
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation) |
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(Commission
File Number) |
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(IRS Employer
Identification No.) |
2601 Fourth Avenue, Suite 500
Seattle, Washington 98121
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(206) 801-2100
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
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Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
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Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On December 11, 2014, Oncothyreon Inc. (the Company) entered into a License Agreement (the License Agreement) with Array BioPharma
Inc. (Array). Pursuant to the License Agreement, Array has granted the Company an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize ONT-380, an orally active, reversible and selective small-molecule HER2 inhibitor. The License
Agreement replaces and terminates the prior Development and Commercialization Agreement under which Oncothyreon and Array were jointly developing ONT-380, and going forward, the Company will be solely responsible for all pre-clinical and clinical
development, regulatory and commercialization activities relating to ONT-380.
Under the terms of the License Agreement, the Company has agreed to pay
Array an upfront fee of $20 million. In addition, if the Company sublicenses rights to ONT-380 to a third party, the Company will pay Array a percentage of any sublicense payments it receives, with the percentage varying according to the stage of
development of ONT-380 at the time of the sublicense. If the Company is acquired within three years of the effective date of the License Agreement, and ONT-380 has not been sublicensed to another entity prior to such acquisition, then the acquirer
will be required to make certain milestone payments of up to $280 million to Array, which are primarily based on potential ONT-380 sales. Array is also entitled to receive up to a double-digit royalty based on net sales of ONT-380.
The License Agreement will expire on a county-by-country basis ten years following the first commercial sale of the product in each respective country, but
may be terminated earlier by either party upon material breach of the License Agreement by the other party or the other partys insolvency, or by the Company on 180 days notice to Array. The Company and Array have also agreed to indemnify
the other party for certain of their respective warranties and obligations under the License Agreement.
The Company expects to file the License Agreement
as an exhibit to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2014. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the License Agreement when filed.
Item 1.02 Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement.
Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement, the Company and Array agreed to terminate the Development and Commercialization Agreement, dated May 29,
2013 by and between the Company and Array (the Collaboration Agreement), pursuant to which the companies collaborated on the development and commercialization of ONT-380 for the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer.
The License Agreement replaces the Collaboration Agreement, and the termination of the Collaboration Agreement was effective on the date the parties entered
into the License Agreement. The Company did not incur any early termination penalties as a result of termination of the Collaboration Agreement.
Item 8.01 Other Events.
On December 12, 2014,
the Company issued a press release announcing its entry into the License Agreement.
On December 12, 2014, the Company issued a press release
announcing data from two ongoing Phase 1b trials of ONT-380 will be presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The data indicated that ONT-380 demonstrated preliminary efficacy and tolerability in a heavily pretreated patient population.
Copies of these press releases are attached as Exhibit 99.1 and Exhibit 99.2 hereto and are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d)
Exhibits.
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Exhibit Number |
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Description |
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99.1 |
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Press Release issued by Oncothyreon Inc. dated December 12, 2014. |
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99.2 |
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Press Release issued by Oncothyreon Inc. dated December 12, 2014. |
2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
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ONCOTHYREON INC. |
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By: |
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/s/ Robert L. Kirkman |
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Robert L. Kirkman |
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President & Chief Executive Officer |
Date: December 12, 2014
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit Number |
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Description |
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99.1 |
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Press Release issued by Oncothyreon Inc. dated December 12, 2014. |
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99.2 |
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Press Release issued by Oncothyreon Inc. dated December 12, 2014. |
4
Exhibit 99.1
Oncothyreon Announces Exclusive License Agreement with Array
BioPharma for ONT-380
SEATTLE,
WASHINGTON, December 12, 2014 - Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) today announced that Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) has granted Oncothyreon an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize ONT-380 (ARRY-380), an orally active, reversible and selective small molecule HER2 inhibitor. The license agreement replaces the prior Development and Collaboration Agreement under which Oncothyreon and Array were jointly
developing ONT-380.
As part of the agreement, Oncothyreon will pay Array $20 million as an upfront fee. In addition, Oncothyreon will pay Array a
significant portion of any payments received from sublicensing ONT-380 rights. If Oncothyreon is acquired within three years of the effective date of the current agreement, Array will be eligible for up to $280 million in commercial milestone
payments. Array is also entitled to receive up to a double-digit royalty based on net sales of ONT-380.
We are encouraged by the positive
preliminary evidence of efficacy and tolerability seen in patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer in our ongoing Phase 1b trials of ONT-380, as will be reported today at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, said Robert L. Kirkman,
M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Oncothyreon. We are pleased, therefore, to obtain the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ONT-380.
About ONT-380
ONT-380 is an orally active, reversible
and selective HER2 inhibitor invented at Array. In multiple preclinical tumor models, ONT-380 was well tolerated and demonstrated significant dose-related tumor growth inhibition that was superior to Herceptin® (trastuzumab) and Tykerb®
(lapatinib). Additionally, in these models, ONT-380 demonstrated synergistic or additive tumor growth inhibition when dosed in combination with the standard-of-care therapeutics Herceptin or Taxotere® (docetaxel). ONT-380 has also demonstrated
superior activity, based on overall survival, compared to Tykerb® and to the investigational drug, neratinib, in an intracranial HER2 positive breast cancer xenograft model.
A Phase 1 trial of ONT-380, with both dose-escalation and expansion components, has been completed in 50 patients, 43 of whom had HER2 positive metastatic
breast cancer. All HER2
positive breast cancer patients had progressed on a Herceptin-containing regimen. In addition, over 80% had been treated with Tykerb, with many having progressed on therapy. In this study,
ONT-380 demonstrated an acceptable safety profile; treatment-related adverse events were primarily Grade 1. Because ONT-380 is selective for HER2 and does not inhibit EGFR, there was a low incidence and severity of treatment-related diarrhea, rash
and fatigue. Additionally, there were no treatment-related cardiac events or Grade 4 treatment-related adverse events reported. Twenty-two HER2 positive breast cancer patients with measurable disease were treated with ONT-380 at doses greater than
or equal to 600 mg BID. In this heavily pretreated patient population, there was a clinical benefit rate (partial response [n = 3] plus stable disease for at least 6 months [n = 3]) of 27%.
Oncothyreon is currently conducting two Phase 1b trials of ONT-380 in combination with other agents. The first trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier
NCT02025192) is a parallel dose-escalation study of ONT-380 in combination with Xeloda® (capecitabine) and/or Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in patients who have been previously treated with Herceptin and Kadcyla® (ado-trastuzumab emtansine or TDM-1) for metastatic breast cancer. The second trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01983501) is a dose-escalation study of ONT-380 in combination with Kadcyla in patients who have
been previously treated with Herceptin and a taxane for metastatic breast cancer. Preliminary data from both trials will be presented today at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and are summarized in an accompanying press release.
About Oncothyreon
Oncothyreon is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. Our goal is to discover, develop and commercialize novel compounds that have the potential to improve the lives and outcomes of
cancer patients. Our current clinical-stage product candidates include ONT-380, an orally active and selective small molecule HER2 inhibitor, and ONT-10, a therapeutic vaccine targeting MUC1. We are developing preclinical product candidates in
oncology, and potentially certain rare diseases, using our recently acquired protocell technology. For more information, visit www.oncothyreon.com.
Oncothyreon Forward-Looking Statements
In order to
provide Oncothyreons investors with an understanding of its current results and future prospects, this release contains statements that are forward-looking. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical
fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as believes, anticipates, plans, expects, will, intends, potential, possible and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include Oncothyreons expectations regarding clinical development activities.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties related to Oncothyreons business and the general economic environment, many of which are
beyond its control. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause Oncothyreons actual results to differ materially
from those projected in forward-looking statements, including those predicting the timing, duration and results of clinical trials, the timing and results of regulatory reviews, the safety and
efficacy of our product candidates, and the indications for which our product candidates might be developed. There can be no guarantee that the results of preclinical studies or clinical trials will be predictive of either safety or efficacy in
future clinical trials. Although Oncothyreon believes that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that its expectations are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement. For a detailed description of Oncothyreons risks and uncertainties, you are encouraged to review the documents filed with the securities regulators in the United States on EDGAR and in Canada on SEDAR.
Oncothyreon does not undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements based on events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Additional Information
Additional information relating
to Oncothyreon can be found on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Oncothyreon Investor and Media Relations Contact:
Julie Rathbun
Rathbun Communications
206-769-9219
ir@oncothyreon.com
Exhibit 99.2
Oncothyreon Announces Presentation of Positive ONT-380 Data
at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Phase 1 data demonstrate preliminary clinical activity and tolerability in heavily pretreated patient population
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, December 12, 2014/Globe Newswire/ - Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) today announced that positive preliminary data from two ongoing
Phase 1b trials of ONT-380 (ARRY-380), an orally active, reversible and selective small molecule HER2 inhibitor, will be presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The first trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02025192) is a parallel dose-escalation study of ONT-380 in combination with Xeloda® (capecitabine)
and/or Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in patients previously treated with Herceptin and Kadcyla® (ado-trastuzumab emtansine or TDM-1) for metastatic breast cancer. Interim data will be presented for 21 patients, including seven in the ONT-380 plus
Xeloda cohort, eight in the ONT-380 plus Herceptin cohort, four in the ONT-380 plus Xeloda and Herceptin cohort, and two in an ongoing expansion cohort in patients with untreated or progressive central nervous system (CNS) metastases, both treated
with ONT-380 plus Herceptin.
Seventeen of the patients were evaluable for best overall response using RECIST 1.1 criteria. In the ONT-380 plus Xeloda
cohort, four patients had a partial response (PR) and three patients had stable disease (SD), for an overall clinical benefit rate of 100 percent (defined as either PR/CR or stable disease for >6 months). In the ONT-380 plus Herceptin cohort,
best response has been a complete response (CR) in one patient, PR in two patients, SD in four patients, and progressive disease (PD) in one patient. Two patients in the ONT-380 plus Xeloda and Herceptin cohort are currently evaluable, one of whom
had a PR and one PD. One patient in the CNS expansion cohort had a PR and the other SD.
Fourteen of the 21 patients in this trial had a history of CNS
metastases, of whom six had evaluable target lesions per modified RECIST 1.1 at the time of entry into the trial. Of these, best initial response has been SD, with decreases in CNS target lesions in four patients. Five of these six patients remain
active on study.
The second trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01983501) is a dose-escalation study of ONT-380 in combination with Kadcyla in
patients who have been previously treated with Herceptin and a taxane for metastatic breast cancer. Data will be presented for 17 patients, of whom 16 were evaluable for response. Patients in this trial were heavily pre-treated, having
received a median of two prior systemic treatments for metastatic disease, including prior pertuzumab in six, and prior lapatinib in five. Best overall response has been PR in five patients, SD
in seven patients, and PD in four patients. Nine patients in this trial had a history of CNS metastases, of whom four had measurable disease per modified RECIST 1.1 at the time of entry into the trial. Three of these four patients have SD in the CNS
and remain active on the study, including two with decreases in measurable target lesions.
ONT-380 was well-tolerated in both studies and in all
combinations tested. The most common adverse events included nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue and elevated liver function tests. Most adverse events were grade 1 or 2 in severity. Elevated liver function tests were more common in patients also
receiving Kadcyla. No grade 3 diarrhea was seen in either trial; anti-diarrheal prophylaxis was not a study requirement.
A maximally tolerated dose (MTD)
for ONT-380 has not been identified to date in any of the combinations tested in either trial. An improved tablet formulation of ONT-380 with increased absorption was used in these trials compared to the powder in capsule formulation used in the
previously reported Phase 1 trial. All patients in both current trials received an initial dose of 300 mg twice per day. At that dose, measured drug levels were similar to those seen with 600 mg twice per day (the single agent MTD) of the prior
formulation. Drug exposure in the current trials was well above the level needed for 90 percent inhibition of HER2.
The preliminary signs of
efficacy in both of these trials are encouraging for the further development of ONT-380, said Stacy Moulder, M.D., Associate Professor, Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. These patients were heavily
pre-treated, with the majority already having a history of CNS metastases. Nevertheless, meaningful responses and prolonged stable disease have been observed and many patients currently remain on study. Importantly, ONT-380 has been well-tolerated,
with a toxicity profile that facilitates its combination with other agents.
We are continuing to enroll patients in both of these Phase 1b
trials, said Diana Hausman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Oncothyreon. We are currently testing an increased dose level of ONT-380 of 350 mg twice daily in both trials. We are also enrolling cohorts of patients in both trials with
CNS metastases from HER2+ breast cancer that are either asymptomatic and untreated or progressive following treatment to better define the potential role of ONT-380 in treating patients with this serious unmet medical need.
About ONT-380
ONT-380 is an orally active, reversible
and selective HER2 inhibitor invented at Array BioPharma Inc. In multiple preclinical tumor models, ONT-380 was well tolerated and demonstrated significant dose-related tumor growth inhibition that was superior to Herceptin® (trastuzumab) and
Tykerb® (lapatinib). Additionally, in these models, ONT-380 demonstrated synergistic or additive tumor growth inhibition when dosed in combination with the standard-of-care therapeutics Herceptin or Taxotere® (docetaxel). ONT-380 has also
demonstrated superior activity, based on overall survival, compared to Tykerb® and to the investigational drug, neratinib, in an intracranial HER2 positive breast cancer xenograft model.
A Phase 1 trial of ONT-380, with both dose-escalation and expansion components, has been completed in 50
patients, 43 of whom had HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer. All HER2 positive breast cancer patients had progressed on a Herceptin-containing regimen. In addition, over 80% had been treated with Tykerb, with many having progressed on therapy.
In this study, ONT-380 demonstrated an acceptable safety profile; treatment-related adverse events were primarily Grade 1. Because ONT-380 is selective for HER2 and does not inhibit EGFR, there was a low incidence and severity of treatment-related
diarrhea, rash and fatigue. Additionally, there were no treatment-related cardiac events or Grade 4 treatment-related adverse events reported. Twenty-two HER2 positive breast cancer patients with measurable disease were treated with ONT-380 at doses
greater than or equal to 600 mg BID. In this heavily pretreated patient population, there was a clinical benefit rate (partial response [n = 3] plus stable disease for at least 6 months [n = 3]) of 27%.
About Oncothyreon
Oncothyreon is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. Our goal is to discover, develop and commercialize novel compounds that have the potential to improve the lives and outcomes of
cancer patients. Our current clinical-stage product candidates include ONT-380, an orally active and selective small molecule HER2 inhibitor, and ONT-10, a therapeutic vaccine targeting MUC1. We are developing preclinical product candidates in
oncology, and potentially certain rare diseases, using our recently acquired protocell technology. For more information, visit www.oncothyreon.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In order to provide
Oncothyreons investors with an understanding of its current results and future prospects, this release contains statements that are forward-looking. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may
be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as believes, anticipates, plans, expects, will, intends, potential, possible and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include Oncothyreons expectations regarding clinical development activities.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties related to Oncothyreons business and the general economic environment, many of which are
beyond its control. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause Oncothyreons actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, including those predicting the timing, duration and results of
clinical trials, the timing and results of regulatory reviews, the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, and the indications for which our product candidates might be developed. There can be no guarantee that the results of preclinical
studies or clinical trials will be predictive of either safety or efficacy in future clinical trials. Although Oncothyreon believes that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that its expectations
are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. For a detailed description of
Oncothyreons risks and uncertainties, you are encouraged to review the documents filed with the securities regulators in the United States on EDGAR and in Canada on SEDAR. Oncothyreon does
not undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements based on events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Additional
Information
Additional information relating to Oncothyreon can be found on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Investor and Media Relations Contact:
Julie Rathbun
Rathbun Communications
206-769-9219
ir@oncothyreon.com
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