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- Imugene (IMU) doses the first patients in a combination study to test its cancer-killing virus, VAXINIA, along with antibody cancer drug Pembrolizumab
- The patients were dosed intravenously (IV) and intratumorally (IT) as part of IMU’s Phase 1 MAST (metastatic advanced solid tumours) study to evaluate the safety of VAXINIA
- Imugene says this cohort of patients dosed with the combination of drugs comes after the second cohort of the single-therapy dose trial was successfully cleared
- The City of Hope-developed oncolytic virus has been shown to shrink colon, lung, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancer tumours in preclinical laboratory and animal models
- IMU shares are down 1.8 per cent, trading at 13.3 cents at 2:06 pm AEDT
Immuno-oncology specialist Imugene (IMU) has dosed the first patients in a combination study to test its cancer-killing virus, VAXINIA, along with antibody cancer drug Pembrolizumab.
The patients were dosed intravenously (IV) and intratumorally (IT) as part of IMU’s Phase 1 MAST (metastatic advanced solid tumours) study to evaluate the safety of VAXINIA.
Imugene said it was able to begin dosing this first cohort of the combination trial after the second cohort of the single-therapy dose trial was successfully cleared.
The company also added that it could now progress with the third cohort for both arms of the monotherapy dose escalation.
“Having continued through the monotherapy dose escalation with safety and early positive signals, we’re eager to see VAXINIA used in combination with the well-known drug Pembrolizumab and see the potential benefit this could bring to patients,” Imugene Managing Director and CEO Leslie Chong said.
“We’re setting an excellent pace with the trial and look forward to data and results in due course.”
The multi-centre Phase 1 MAST trial began with delivering a low dose of VAXINIA to patients with metastatic or advanced solid tumours who had at least two prior lines of standard-of-care treatment, such as surgery or chemotherapy.
The City of Hope-developed oncolytic virus has been shown to shrink colon, lung, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancer tumours in preclinical laboratory and animal models.
Overall, the study aims to recruit up to 100 patients across around 10 trial sites in the United States and Australia.
IMU shares were down 1.8 per cent and trading at 13.3 cents at 2:06 pm AEDT.
