Company developing intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, OncoSec Medical claimed the observations of preliminary Clinical trial study related to its OMS-1140 ImmunoPulse 1L-12 in metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer afflicted patients. The study is meant to assess the implications of a single cycle of ImmunoPulse IL-12 alleged to surge TNBC tumor immunogenicity by ushering in a pro-inflammatory cascade of events including cytotoxic tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) activation.
Five patients with TNBC have been treated with a single cycle of ImmunoPulse IL-12 (intratumoral pIL-12 [tavokinogene telseplasmid or “tavo”] with electroporation). Two of these five patients were subsequently treated with single agent nivolumab (Opdivo®) – an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor treatment – as their immediate next therapy. Both of these patients, who were heavily pretreated metastatic TNBC patients with chemotherapy refractory disease, displayed significant responses in both ImmunoPulse 1L-12 treated and untreated lesions hence persuading the Company to further facilitate a more definitive assessment of the combined therapies.
Sharron Gargosky, Chief Clinical and Regulatory Officer of OncoSec said “The marked synergy shown in these patients strongly suggests that IL-12 may have primed the tumor microenvironment, impacting the clinical result. The combination of ImmunoPulse IL-12 and checkpoint inhibition represents a highly promising new therapeutic approach for TNBC and warrants a formal evaluation given the extremely low response rate in women who have failed multiple prior therapies.”
Previous studies have revealed better Clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients whose tumors are associated with markers of inflammation, such as the presence of TILs. The density of TILs is a key requirement for the anti-tumor activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies.
Image Source: OncoSec Medical