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Agenus Announces Positive Preliminary Results of iNKT Cell Therapy Trial in COVID-19
3 out of 4 intubated patients were discharged after treatment2 out of 4 patients were extubated within 24 hours of dosing LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 04, 2021
About this update from Agenus Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"3 out of 4 intubated patients were discharged after treatment2 out of 4 patients were extubated within 24 hours of dosing LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies, adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune response to cancers and infections, today announced positive preliminary results from its Phase 1 trial of iNKT cell therapy in patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 through its subsidiary, AgenTus Therapeutics. AgenTus is actively accruing and treating patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19 with its proprietary allogeneic iNKT cell therapy, with dose escalation underway. Preliminary data show that of the 4 patients dosed to date, 3 patients (75%) were extubated and released after treatment. Notably, 2 of these patients (50%) were extubated within 24 hours of dosing. “We are heartened by these early results, which suggest that very sick patients who were admitted to intensive care units and intubated may benefit from a single administration of our iNKT cell therapy,” said Dr. Garo Armen, Chairman and CEO of Agenus. “iNKT cells can be manufactured at scale and so far patients in this trial have tolerated the treatment well.” Dose escalation is expected to be completed in the first half of this year for an initiation into a Phase 2 trial with data readouts expected in the fourth quarter of this year. About AgenTus Therapeutics, Inc. AgenTus Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing allogeneic iNKT cell therapies to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. AgenTus also aims to advance adoptive cell therapy formats which would enable off-the-shelf living drugs. AgenTus has locations in Lexington, MA and Cambridge, UK. For more information, please visit www.agentustherapeutics.com. About AgenusAgenus is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of therapies that engage the body's immune system to fight cancer. The Company's vision is to expand the patient populations benefiting from cancer immunotherapy by pursuing combination approaches that leverage a broad repertoire of antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies (through its AgenTus Therapeutics subsidiary), and proprietary cancer vaccine plat...