BRIEF—Phase II hit sends up Calithera share price

Calithera Biosciences has announced positive results from the Phase II ENTRATA study of telaglenastat (CB-839), in combination with everolimus, in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The combination doubled the median progression-free survival (PFS) in heavily pre-treated patients with advanced RCC and had a well-tolerated safety profile.

When added to everolimus, the therapy doubled the median PFS to 3.8 months, as compared to 1.9 months for everolimus alone, and reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 36%.

Telaglenastat is the first glutaminase inhibitor to demonstrate clinical activity for the treatment of cancer, and news of the study results sent the firm’s share price up nearly 8% in the first few hours of trading on Monday.

Chief executive Susan Molineaux said: “The achievement of positive topline results in our first randomized trial is a significant milestone for Calithera because it provides clinical proof of concept for telaglenastat.”