Category Archives: active immunotherapy

Combination Therapy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors to Combat Lung Cancer – James P. McCauley, Contributor

Researchers at AstraZeneca have completed a small-scale study which demonstrated the synergistic benefit of utilizing two immunotherapy drugs to combat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) over just a single immunotherapy drug. The study found that utilizing an immune checkpoint inhibitor for PD-1, called durvalumab, in combination with another immune checkpoint inhibitor for CTLA-4, called tremelimumab, had a tumor response rate of 23% for metastatic NSCLC. Researchers at AstraZeneca are, indeed, confident that combination immune checkpoint therapy is the key to developing more efficient immunotherapies to target and effectively treat cancer. Continue reading →

Three Recent Late Stage Disappointments for Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Sarcoma, and Glioblastoma

In the last several months, three novel drugs that we have been following on this blog failed in late stage clinical trials. The drugs have diverse mechanisms of action:

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Argos’ Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Study Passes Independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee Second Interim Analysis

An independent data monitoring committee (IDMC) has recommended the continuation of Argos’ pivotal phase 3 ADAPT clinical trial of AGS-003 for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) based on results of the committee’s second planned interim data analysis. The next planned interim analysis will be in 6 months. Continue reading →

ImaginAB’s Minibodies for CD8+ T Cell Targeting – Select Optimal Immunotherapy Approaches

ImaginAB and Eli Lilly announced a pre-clinical collaboration to use ImaginAb’s immune imaging agent IAB22M2C to study new T-cell therapies cancer. Continue reading →

DNAtrix and Merck Phase II Collaboration of Oncolytic Virus + Keytruda for Glioblastoma

DNAtrix and Merck announced a collaboration to combine oncolytic virus therapy and PD-1 inhibition – the two companies will collaborate in phase II clinical trials on a therapy to treat glioblastoma, an especially deadly cancer for which there is no cure. Continue reading →

Immatics and MD Anderson Collaborate on IL-21 for Cancer Immunotherapy

Immatics, a German biotechnology company has established a subsidiary in Houston, TX to collaborate with MD Anderson on overcoming some of the limitations to the adoptive T cell therapies now in the immuno-oncology pipeline. The collaboration covers the use of cytokine IL-21 to expand high-quality T cell batches, particularly those generated by CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) and related approaches. Continue reading →

CD40 Antibody for Immunotherapy of Cancer Licensed by Janssen from Alligator

Janssen Biotech acquired a worldwide license to Alligator Bioscience’s Phase I immunotherapy ADC-1013, an agonistic monoclonal antibody that targets CD40, an immuno-stimulatory receptor found on antigen-presenting cells, which can spur an increase in T cells attacking a tumor. Continue reading →

Mallinckrodt Acquires Therakos for $1.33 Billion – Cellex Treatment System

Therakos’ Cellex extracorporeal photopheresis system is used to administer autologous immune cell therapy for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), the two most common forms of which include mycosis fungoides (up to 20,000 case per year in the US) and Sézary Syndrome, which is an aggressive form of the disease.  in total, CTCL’s account for less than 4% of all non-Hodgkins lymphomas. Continue reading →

Two New Drugs Effective in Kidney Cancer – Opdivo and Cometriq

Opdivo (nivolumab – BMS) and Cometriq (cabozantinib -Exelixis) demonstrated positive results in studies of patients with kidney cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, accounting for more than 100,000 deaths annually. Globally, the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with metastatic, or advanced kidney cancer, is 12.1 percent. Continue reading →