In this cohort of 12 patients, the majority had received at least two prior lines of PD-1 inhibitor therapy. Nine of the twelve patients (75%) achieved disease control, including two patients who achieved partial responses.
In this context, the company’s shares rose 158% on Monday. The green has climbed to 132.5% in the last five days and 80% in the last month.
And one of these patients, who had received two previous lines of therapy based on PD-1 inhibitors and had progressed after his last treatment with ipilimumab plus nivolumab within a period of two monthsachieved a 55% reduction in tumor volume. While seven of the 12 patients had a progression-free survival of more than five months.
Hugh Griffith, Founder and CEO of NuCana, commented: “We are very excited to share these data on NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in PD-1 inhibitor-refractory and -resistant patients with melanoma. The outcomes in this patient population are very poor, with progression-free survival of 2-3 months with current standard of care, so we are encouraged that the majority of patients receiving this combination achieved progression-free survival of greater than five months.”
In addition to showing these encouraging signs of efficacy, the combination of NUC-7738 and pembrolizumab had a favorable safety profile.
What is NuCana plc
NuCana plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel cancer treatments. The company uses an innovative technology called ProTide, which seeks to improve the efficacy and tolerability of cancer therapies by chemically modifying existing chemotherapeutic agents. These modified drugs are designed to enhance cellular uptake and activation within the tumor, which can increase efficacy and reduce side effects.
NuCana is focused on developing treatments for various types of cancer, including colorectal, pancreatic, lung and melanoma. Its research and development approach includes phased clinical trials, with the goal of finding more effective therapies for patients who do not respond to conventional treatments. The company is listed on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NCNA.
The company claims that NUC-7738 may sensitize PD-1-resistant tumors to rechallenge with PD-1 inhibitors due to its ability to target multiple aspects of the tumor microenvironment (TME), by disrupting RNA polyadenylation and subsequent changes in cancer cell gene expression. Data from tumor biopsies obtained before and after NUC-7738-based treatment showed increases in genes related to antigen presentation and T-cell activation.
In August, NuCana discontinued the NuTide:323 study following an initial pre-planned analysis and the recommendation of the NuTide:323 Study Steering Committee.
Although there were prognostic imbalances favoring the control arm, the Committee considered that the combination of NUC-3373 with leucovorin, irinotecan, and bevacizumab (NUFIRI+bev) was unlikely to meet the study’s primary endpoint of improved Sucela Progression-Free Survival compared to the control arm of 5-FU, leucovorin, irinotecan, and bevacizumab (FOLFIRI+bev) at the final analysis.
Source: Ambito
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