Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. presented promising new data from its phase 3 trial of bavituximab in patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

The study showed that patients in the bavituximab arm with low baseline PD-L1 expression levels had a statistically significant improvement in median overall survival as compared with patients with higher baseline levels of PD-L1 in the same arm.

Data showed that patients in the docetaxel plus bavituximab arm with a pre-treatment PD-L1 expression level on tumor cells of less than 1% had a median overall survival of 12.1 months compared to a median overall survival of 6.1 months for patients with PD-L1 expression greater than or equal to 1%.

There was no difference in median overall survival based on PD-L1 expression levels observed in the trial's docetaxel plus placebo control arm.

Bavituximab is an investigational immune-modulatory monoclonal antibody that targets phosphatidylserine. Phosphatidylserine hinders the ability of immune cells to recognize and fight tumors.