Celldex Therapeutics Inc. said a combination of its drug varlilumab with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Opdivo helped improve response rates in cancer patients, according to data from a phase 1/2 study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Varlilumab is an antibody that targets the CD27 immune checkpoint molecule, inducing anti-tumor responses in the body. Opdivo is a programmed cell death protein 1, or PD-1 inhibitor, that boosts the body's immune system to kill cancer cells.
The trial includes cohorts in 5 cancer types. Celldex reported data from the ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer cohorts, which had 66 and 42 response-evaluable patients, respectively.
The combo was aimed at patients with low expectation of responding to Opdivo due to so-called cold tumors that do not respond to checkpoint inhibition therapy.
"This was particularly noteworthy in ovarian cancer where the combination with the anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, Opdivo, turned 'immune-cold' tumors 'hot,' which in turn correlated with improved clinical outcomes, including improved response rate and progression-free survival in these patients," Rachel Sanborn, co-director of the Providence Thoracic Oncology Program, said in a statement.
For the phase 2 ovarian cancer study, a 38% disease control rate was observed, meaning that after at least three months, cancer either did not progress or was reduced in 24 of the 64 evaluated patients.
For the phase 2 colorectal cancer study, the disease control rate was 20% or 8 of the 41 evaluated patients.
The 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting is expected to bring together more than 32,000 professionals from all over the world, with more than 2,500 study abstracts to be presented on site and an additional 3,350 abstracts to be published online.
