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- Imugene (IMU) has confirmed its PD1-Vaxx drug candidate will proceed to the third and final high-dose cohort in a phase one clinical trial
- The ongoing trial is assessing three different doses in lung cancer patients to find the optimal one
- So far, the immunotherapy drug is already showing signs of an immune response in patients — validating its potential to be a new cancer treatment
- In addition, Imugene has welcomed the Arizona-based Mayo Clinic to the trial after receiving approval from the Institutional Review Board
- Imugene’s shares are up 7.69 per cent and trading at 14 cents
Imugene’s (IMU) immunotherapy candidate, PD1-Vaxx, will proceed to the third and final high-dose cohort in the phase one clinical trial.
The trial is assessing three different doses of PD1-Vaxx in lung cancer patients to find the optimal dose. The drug works to produce an anti-cancer effect similar to other immune checkpoint inhibitor antibodies used to treat cancer.
The second dosage started being administered in early February. Following this, the Cohort Review Committee (CRC) reviewed the safety and tolerability data and determined the drug candidate is safe with no dose-limiting toxicities.
“I am excited to hear the CRC recommended opening the third and final dose cohort based on the outstanding safety and tolerability of PD1-Vaxx reviewed to date,” Principal Investigator Professor Gary Richardson said.
After six weeks, or 43 days, of treatment, three patients showed stabilisation of disease and one patient’s tumour couldn’t be measured — indicating a complete response to PD1-Vaxx.
However, the status of two patients from the first cohort were unchanged at day 85. Further results and scans are expected in the coming weeks.
“I am encouraged that we are seeing positive signals at such an early stage of our PD1-Vaxx phase one trial,” Managing Director and CEO Leslie Chong said.
In addition to progressing to the third and final dosage, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona will join the phase one clinical trial after receiving approval from the Institutional Review Board.
Imugene’s shares are up 7.69 per cent and trading at 14 cents at 10:11 am AEST.
