Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC said a handful of patients responded to its investigational NY-ESO SPEAR T cell therapy in another cancer type.
Of the first four patients dosed with the treatment, three saw a reduction in their myxoid/round cell liposarcoma, a cancer that arises in fat cells. The remaining patient had a stable disease, in which the tumor neither shrunk nor grew.
The U.K.-based biopharmaceutical company said it has yet to confirm the partial response in one of the three patients who saw a reduction. The company added that its treatment was well-tolerated.
Adaptimmune's Chief Medical Officer Rafael Amado said the responses meant the company's medicine had the potential to treat tumors that are known to be unresponsive to current immunotherapies, which boost the body's natural defenses to fight cancer.
Some existing immunotherapies include Merck & Co. Inc. 's Keytruda.
In December 2017, Adaptimmune reported that the medicine showed "promising efficacy and acceptable safety" in a pilot study of multiple myeloma patients.
Last year, GlaxoSmithKline PLC exercised its options to acquire the rights to Adaptimmune's NY-ESO SPEAR T cell therapy program for cancer.
