Vaccinex starts trial of pepinemab, Bavencio combo to treat pancreatic cancer
gorodenkoff
- Vaccinex (NASDAQ:VCNX) said a phase 1b/2 trial of pepinemab in combination with avelumab as second line combination immunotherapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has started.
- The main goal of the trial is to investigate the safety and efficacy of the combination of pepinemab and the PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) avelumab, sold as Bavencio by Pfizer (PFE) and Merck KGaA (OTCPK:MKKGY) (OTCPK:MKGAF), in patients with PDAC, with main attention to changes in the tumor microenvironment, the company added.
- Vaccinex noted that trial aims to test if pepinemab can reverse the suppressive tumor microenvironment found in PDAC, thereby helping the anti-tumor activity of immune checkpoint blockade.
- The trial, which has been sponsored by Vaccinex, will be conducted at the University of Rochester.
- "We believe that pepinemab has demonstrated a favorable safety profile when used in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (OTC:ICI) avelumab1, and the combination may represent a novel treatment option for patients with this devastating disease," said Vaccinex CEO Maurice Zauderer.
- Vaccinex noted that primary funding support was from a grant from the Gateway Discovery Award.