The annual meeting of the American Urological Association had Sesen Bio present its three-month data for its bladder cancer treatment Vicinium. This was Sesen Bio’s first readout following its name change from Eleven Biotherapeutics.

133 patients having high-grade, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) were enrolled in the Vista trial. The patients were earlier receiving treatment with standard care bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy. The efficacy data from the trial concluded that Vicinium had a complete response rate of 43% from 11 patients with cancer that did not spread into the muscle or other tissue from the bladder. Men are primarily affected by NMIBC and are treated in normal course with surgery. However, this line of treatment does not always prove effective. BCG immunotherapy is administered to around 60% of patients diagnosed with NMIBC though the effects are not always positive.  

Vicinium has been developed as a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate and has been positioned as an alternative to losing the bladder. Targeting the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) for the delivery of Pseudomonas exotoxin A, it comprises a recombinant fusion protein. The company stated that EpCAM is overexpressed in NMIBC but not in healthy bladder cells. Sesen expressed a strong belief that developing it will lead to a decrease in toxic effects in healthy tissues.