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- Immutep (IMM) will begin a phase one trial to evaluate its efti product in conjunction with chemotherapy and an anti-PD-1 therapy
- Up to 2o patients with tumours will participate in the trial and receive 30-milligram doses of efti every two weeks with chemo and anti-PD-1 therapy
- The first patient is expected to be enrolled in Q3 2021 with first interim results expected in 2022
- Immutep has also received firm commitments to undertake a placement to raise $60 million and will use the funds to progress ongoing trials
- Shares in Immutep are down 12.2 per cent and trading at 54 cents at 12:12 pm AEST
Immutep (IMM) will begin a phase one trial to evaluate its efti product in conjunction with chemotherapy and an anti-PD-1 therapy.
The trial, named INSIGHT-003, will be carried out at the Institute of Clinical Cancer Research IKF at Krankenhaus Nordwest in Frankfurt, Germany.
Up to 20 patients with various solid tumours will take part in the trial and receive 30-milligram doses of efti every two weeks for 24 weeks with standard chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy.
After the 24 weeks have passed, the patient will enter a maintenance phase and receive either efti alone or in double or triple combination with anti-PD-1 therapy.
Regulatory and ethical approvals have been received and the first patient is expected to be enrolled in Q3 2021 with first interim results expected in 2022.
“Testing efti as part of a triple combination therapy is an important and exciting expansion of our development program,” CEO Marc Voigt said.
“Efti activates the immune system and could bring a significant benefit to multiple approved standard of care therapies and experimental therapies.
“Together with our other trials, we are building a very robust pool of data to understand how efta can ultimately improve outcomes for cancer patients.”
In a busy morning, Immutep has also announced it has received firm commitments to undertake a two-phase placement to raise $60 million.
More than 115 million new shares will be issued to institutional and sophisticated investors at 52 cents — representing a 12.9 per cent discount to the 30-day volume-weighted average price.
Phase two is subject to shareholder approval which will be sought at the company’s general meeting on July 26.
Immutep also revealed it will be undertaking a share purchase plan to raise a further $5 million.
Eligible shareholders will be able to apply for up to $30,000 worth of new shares without incurring any brokerage or transaction costs.
If applications exceed $5 million, then Immutep may scale back applications in its discretion.
Immutep will use the money to fund upcoming clinical trials, begin large-scale efti manufacturing and strengthen its research projects.
Shares in Immutep were down 12.2 per cent and trading at 54 cents at 12:12 pm AEST.
