Marker Therapeutics Reports Interim Results of its MultiTAA T Cell Therapy in Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma at AACR
Marker Therapeutics Reports Interim Results of its MultiTAA T Cell Therapy in Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma at AACR Results show potential of MultiTAA therapy in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer; potential second-line treatment for chemo-refractory patients |
[20-July-2019] |
SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced interim data from an ongoing investigator-sponsored clinical trial led by Baylor College of Medicine, evaluating the Company's MultiTAA T cell therapy in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The data were reviewed today in an oral presentation during a plenary session, as well as a poster presentation, at the American Association for Cancer Research's (AACR) Immune Cell Therapies for Cancer: Successes and Challenges of CAR T Cells and Other Forms of Adoptive Therapy conference held in San Francisco, California from July 19-22, 2019.
"Pancreatic cancer continues to be one of the most challenging solid tumor malignancies to treat and survival rates have not seen a meaningful improvement in more than 40 years," said Brandon G. Smaglo, M.D., FACP, lead investigator and Assistant Professor of Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine. "We are encouraged by these interim data which suggest that MultiTAA therapy may contribute to more durable responses without added toxicity when used in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy, or as a second-line therapy for patients who are chemo-refractory. Additionally, despite the particularly dense desmoplastic stroma surrounding pancreatic tumors—which has been long considered a major obstacle for T cell effectiveness—our study of patients with borderline surgically resectable disease suggests that MultiTAA cells are capable of meaningfully infiltrating the tumor." Trial Overview Title: Targeting pancreatic cancer using non-engineered, multi-antigen specific T cells (TACTOPS) The trial plans to enroll a total of 45 patients with advanced or borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a three-arm trial. Arm A is for patients with unresectable/metastatic disease who are responding to standard first-line chemotherapy. Arm B is for patients with progressive disease or therapy intolerance. Arm C is an exploratory arm for patients with surgically resectable disease. To date, a total of 19 patients have been administered infusions of MultiTAA T cell therapy (ten patients in Arm A, six patients in Arm B and three patients in Arm C). Interim Results Arm A: This arm was designed to evaluate the safety and potential efficacy of using MultiTAA cells as part of first-line treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer. These patients in the chemo-responsive arm have completed or will complete at least three months of standard-of-care chemotherapy (gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel or FOLFIRINOX) – the period during which a response to chemotherapy would typically occur – before receiving up to six administrations of MultiTAA T cells in conjunction with chemotherapy.
Arm B: This arm was designed to evaluate the use of MultiTAA cells as a second-line therapy for patients who have failed first-line chemotherapy. The patients in this chemo-refractory arm are either ineligible for chemotherapy or have progressed on chemotherapy and have received or are receiving up to six doses of MultiTAA T cells as a monotherapy.
Arm C: This arm was designed to assess T cell infiltration and expansion. These patients with borderline surgically resectable disease received or will receive a dose of T cells following chemotherapy, radiotherapy or combination prior to surgical resection and up to five additional doses of T cells after surgery.
Overall, investigators observed a clinical benefit correlated with the detection of tumor-reactive T cells in patient peripheral blood (Arms A, B and C) and within tumor biopsy samples (Arm C) post-infusion. T cells exhibited activity against both targeted antigens as well as non-targeted TAAs including WT-1, AFP, MART-1 and numerous antigens of the MAGE family, indicating induction of antigen/epitope spreading. No infusion-related systemic- or neurotoxicity was observed, and patients continue to be evaluated and enrolled in the trial. Peter L. Hoang, President & CEO of Marker Therapeutics commented: "We are encouraged by the early clinical results we have seen in this clinical trial for patients who otherwise have few therapeutic options and a dire prognostic outcome, and we are optimistic about the prospect of potentially validating the use of MultiTAA therapy in the context of first-line and second-line care for patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Moreover, we are very pleased with the data we see of MultiTAA T cell infiltration and subsequent epitope spreading observed in this trial, suggesting that MultiTAA therapy may initiate and contribute to a potent and durable treatment effect. We plan to continue following these patients and enroll new patients to further evaluate durability." Conference Call and Webcast About MultiTAA About Marker Therapeutics, Inc. Marker is also advancing a number of innovative peptide- and gene-based immuno-therapeutics for the treatment of metastatic solid tumors, including the Folate Receptor Alpha program (TPIV200) for breast and ovarian cancers and the HER2/neu program (TPIV100/110) for breast cancer, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials. To receive future press releases via email, please visit: https://markertherapeutics.com/email-alerts/ Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marker-therapeutics-reports-interim-results-of-its-multitaa-t-cell-therapy-in-patients-with-pancreatic-adenocarcinoma-at-aacr-300888297.html SOURCE Marker Therapeutics, Inc. | ||
Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:MRKR |
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