Vaccinex presents updated interim data from Phase 1b/2 study

Vaccinex announced that updated interim data of the Phase 1b/2 study of pepinemab in combination with anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor, Bavencio, in non-small cell lung cancer is being reported during a poster presentation on Saturday, November 9 at the 34th Annual Meeting of The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. Importantly, comparative analysis of available pre-treatment and on-treatment biopsies in a subset of subjects indicate that there is increased CD8+ T cell influx into tumors following combination therapy in patients experiencing a partial response or stable disease, suggesting a favorable treatment-related change in the tumor micro-environment. Tumor was absent or greatly reduced in on-treatment biopsies from these subjects. No concerning safety signals with the combination of pepinemab and avelumab have been identified by investigators to date. One dose limiting toxicity, a grade 3 pulmonary embolism, occurred. This resolved and did not recur in that same subject or additional subjects in any cohort. In addition, there have been no dropouts or discontinuations due to toxicity. Dr. Maurice Zauderer, CEO of Vaccinex, commented, "We are very pleased that patients appear to be experiencing durable clinical benefit from the combination of pepinemab plus avelumab, in many cases even after progression on prior immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The many patients who do not respond to single agent immunotherapy and others who relapse following single agent immunotherapy represent important unmet needs for NSCLC, and our data suggest that the combination treatment may overcome inherent or acquired resistance to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy."