HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Memgen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing potentially life-saving cancer immunotherapies, presented the first clinical data for MEM-288, its oncolytic viral therapy, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 37th Annual Meeting in Boston, MA.
The interim results from this ongoing first-in-human Phase 1 trial indicate that MEM-288 is well tolerated and expands tumor-fighting T cells. Seven patients with solid tumors received at least one intratumoral injection of MEM-288 with no dose-limiting toxicity or discontinuation due to toxicity. The only reported adverse event in more than one patient was grade 1 injection site tenderness. The 7 patients included 6 with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 1 with pancreatic cancer. All 6 NSCLC patients had already received 2 to 4 lines of therapy including one or more lines with checkpoint inhibitors before enrollment.
Two of five NSCLC patients evaluable for RECIST response in non-injected, distant tumors exhibited best response of stable disease. This "abscopal effect" suggests that local administration of MEM-288 could stimulate immune system reactivity to tumors elsewhere in the body without corresponding systemic toxicity. The remaining three NSCLC patients evaluable for RECIST response had progressive disease.
One of the NSCLC patients with progressive disease had already had three lines of prior treatment, including osimertinib, carboplatin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab/atezolizumab, and radiation therapy for brain metastasis. This patient achieved a complete response after treatment with MEM-288 and then docetaxel and ramucirumab.
"We’re encouraged by the initial safety, tumor shrinkage, and immune responses seen so far in metastatic NSCLC with MEM-288 as a monotherapy,” said Mark Cantwell, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Memgen. "We look forward to completing this part of the trial and starting on our study of MEM-288 in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody for relapsed/refractory metastatic NSCLC.”
About MEM-288
MEM-288 is an oncolytic adenovirus uniquely engineered to express two immune modulators: MEM40, Memgen's proprietary recombinant membrane-stable form of CD40 ligand, and the cytokine interferon beta (IFNβ). MEM-288 selectively targets cancer cells and boosts the anti-tumor immune response. MEM-288 leverages validated targets that are potent activators of the immune system. Based on the early results presented at SITC, MEM-288 may successfully deploy the CD40 pathway to stimulate immune responses directed against tumors.
For more information about the ongoing Phase 1 study of MEM-288, visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05076760
About Memgen
Memgen, Inc. is a privately owned, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Its R&D efforts are focused on developing cancer immunotherapies that can safely activate the immune system and be combined with other drugs to eradicate cancer. MEM-288, its first-in-class cancer immunotherapy, leverages the power of CD40 ligand, a uniquely potent immune modulator. In preclinical melanoma and lung tumor models, the company's proprietary CD40 ligand transgene was able to elicit powerful, antigen-specific, anti-tumor immune responses without the toxicity typically seen with other CD40 activation approaches. Working with collaborators at top cancer research institutions, Memgen is advancing cancer treatments for patients who do not respond to currently available therapeutic options. For more information, visit www.memgenbio.com.
