OncoSec Medical has enrolled the first patient in a phase II clinical trial that uses ImmunoPulse IL-12, an immunotherapy platform, to treat patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC).
ImmunoPulse focuses on the delivery of DNA-based interleukin to cancerous tumor cells, using the patient's immune system to target the tumors. The key end points of the trial include the following:
- Objective response evaluations using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and immune-related Response Criteria
- Biomarker comparisons of pre- and post-tumor biopsies
- Duration of treatment response
- Overall survival and progression-free survival
- Safety
"This study will address one of the great unmet medical needs in oncology today: the number of patients who do not respond to anti-PD-1 treatment," stated Mai H. Le, MD, chief medical officer of OncoSec, in a press release. "As we expand the application of ImmunoPulse IL-12 beyond cutaneous cancer indications, we anticipate that it will augment the antitumor immune response in HNSCC and increase the number of patients who will respond to anti-PD-1 therapy."
