Research, News, and Market Data PDSB
Received guidance on registrational path for combination in recurrent/metastatic, immune checkpoint inhibitor refractory head and neck cancer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease, announced the successful completion of a Type B meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a combination therapy of PDS0101, PDS0301 and an FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for the treatment of recurrent/metastatic human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive, ICI refractory head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancers are the most common of all HPV-positive cancers and the number of cases is growing rapidly, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There remains a critical unmet medical need to develop new treatment options for patients who have failed treatment with ICIs.
In recent interactions with the FDA, PDS Biotech has confirmed the required contents of the study design for a potential registrational trial of the combination of PDS0101, PDS0301 and a commercial immune checkpoint inhibitor. PDS0101, PDS Biotech’s lead candidate, is a Versamune® based investigational immunotherapy designed to stimulate a potent targeted T cell attack against HPV16-positive cancers. PDS0301 is a novel, proprietary investigational tumor-targeting fusion protein of Interleukin 12 (IL-12) that enhances the proliferation, potency and longevity of T cells in the tumor microenvironment, and is designed to overcome tumor immune suppression utilizing a different mechanism from checkpoint inhibitors. The combination of Versamune® and IL-12 is patented by PDS Biotech. In a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-led clinical trial in advanced HPV-positive ICI refractory patients, the combination of PDS0101 and PDS0301 administered with an investigational bi-functional ICI resulted in a median overall survival of 21 months, which compares favorably to the historical median survival of 3-4 months.
“We are pleased with the guidance from the FDA on key elements of a study design to progress the development of our assets, PDS0101 and PDS0301, in combination with a commercial immune checkpoint inhibitor,” said Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech. “This concurrence to substitute an FDA-approved commercially available ICI for the investigational agent studied in the NCI trial simplifies the regulatory pathway for this triple combination.”
Dr. Bedu-Addo continued, “Versamune® based investigational immunotherapies in combination with PDS0301 represent a potentially transformative treatment approach for recurrent/metastatic, ICI refractory cancer patients with poor survival prognosis. We remain committed to addressing unmet needs in cancer with more effective immunotherapy.”
About PDS0101 PDS0101, PDS Biotech’s lead candidate, is a novel investigational human papilloma virus (HPV)-targeted immunotherapy that stimulates a potent targeted T cell attack against HPV-positive cancers. PDS