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Imugene (ASX:IMU) advances clinical trials for cancer treatment

ASX News, Health Care
ASX:IMU      MCAP $578.2M
04 January 2022 11:20 (AEST)

Source: Imugene

Imugene (IMU) has completed the Phase 1a monotherapy dose escalation of PD1-Vaxx and will now go on to the combination dose escalation.

The ongoing Phase I data represents a clinical proof-of-concept for PD1-Vaxx monotherapy with early efficacy signals.

Imugene’s PD1-Vaxx is a B-cell activating immunotherapy designed to treat tumours such as lung cancer by interfering with PD-1/PD-L1 binding and interaction, producing an anti-cancer effect similar to Tecentiq, Keytruda, Opdivo, and other immune checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibodies.

The trial was performed by using 10, 50 and 100 micrograms of PD1-Vaxx in non-small cell lung cancer patients which can produce an anti-cancer effect.

The company says the trials are designed to look for safety, tolerability and early response signals, to determine the optimal dose for further development.

Imugene will now add combination therapy of PD1-Vaxx in the phase 1b portion of the clincal trial. This next stage of studies will involve previously untreated patients with non-small cell lung cancer patients.

The company said plans are now being finalised to combine PD1-Vaxx with Roche/Genentech’s PD-L1 targeting blockbuster immune checkpoint inhibitor, atezolizumab.

In other company news, Imugene has appointed two former employees of Roche/Genentech to its senior management team.

Ursula McCurry has been appointed Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations and has over 20 years of global clinical development experience. In another appointment, Nimali Withana will take on the role of Senior Director of Clinical Science. Dr Withana has over 18 years of drug development experience.

Shares in Imugene were up 6.88 per cent trading at 42.8 cents at 11.17 am AEDT.

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