TILT Biotherapeutics today announced a clinical trial collaboration agreement with MSD, to evaluate TILT’s adenoviral cancer immunotherapy, TILT-123, in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab), MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in a Phase I dose escalation trial in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer.
The trial will include 15 to 30 patients and will be led by Dr Matt Block at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. During the first month of the trial, patients will receive TILT-123 monotherapy, and thereafter consecutive treatments of TILT-123 in conjunction with pembrolizumab.
The trial’s objective is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TILT-123 in combination with pembrolizumab and is designed to also deliver insights about the mechanism of action of TILT-123 in humans.
Akseli Hemminki, TILT Biotherapeutics’ CEO, said: “There is a pressing need for a therapy to address platinum refractory ovarian cancer. The heart of our approach revolves around the use of oncolytic adenoviruses armed with cytokines to boost the patient’s immune response towards the tumour, enabling it to find and destroy cancer cells.
“We are delighted to be working with MSD to progress our lead candidate, TILT-123, towards the clinic in combination with its breakthrough immunotherapy Keytruda.”
TILT Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing cancer therapeutics based on its proprietary oncolytic adenoviruses armed with molecules including cytokines that can stimulate, or suppress, T cells.
The company’s patented TILT technology, which can be delivered locally and systemically, modifies the tumour microenvironment and eliminates its ability to suppress immune responses to cancer, thereby enhancing T-cell therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T therapies.
A Phase I trial with TILT-123 conducted in Europe showed no serious adverse events when used as a monotherapy or in combination with tumour infiltrating lymphocytes at the first dose level.
The company has received regulatory approval to open a second clinical trial site at CHU Nantes, France, with 15 patients in total to be enrolled across the two sites. The clinical trial will now proceed to the second (of five) dose levels and expects interim data by the end of this year.
Kat Jenkins
This is a syndicated feed from Pharmafile
