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NantKwest, ImmunityBio Announce Positive Interim Data on Survival Rates in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Trials
Pivotal QUILT 88 trial based on combination immunotherapy of “Cancer Moonshot” strategy; early indications of increased survival rate for pancreatic cancer
About this update from Immunitybio, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nPivotal QUILT 88 trial based on combination immunotherapy of “Cancer Moonshot” strategy; early indications of increased survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients with no other approved treatment options\n\n\nIn initial Cancer Moonshot QUILT trials of haNK and avelumab (PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor) completed in 2019, median overall survival rate more than doubled compared to historical controls (eight months versus three months)\n\n\nA complete remission was achieved when replacing haNK and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor avelumab with PD-L1 t-haNK and four out of five patients are alive 8-16 months since beginning treatment on these expanded protocols\n\n\nBased on this encouraging early data, a single-arm Phase 2 study (QUILT 88, Cohort C) was initiated in October 2020, for which the primary endpoint is overall survival and 15 out of 18 (83%) of patients enrolled with second-line or greater pancreatic cancer remain alive to date\n\n\nRandomized trials in first- and second-line pancreatic cancer are actively recruiting at three sites with more than 50 patients enrolled or being evaluated in QUILT 88 to date\n\n\n EL SEGUNDO & CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\n\nNantKwest, Inc. (NASDAQ: NK), a clinical-stage, natural killer cell-based therapeutics company, and ImmunityBio, Inc., a privately-held immunotherapy company, today announced early interim results of its PD-L1 t-haNK protocols showing median survival rates more than doubled that of the historic rate in patients with advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer for which no other FDA-approved treatment exists. These trials, which were based on the original Cancer Moonshot hypothesis and exploratory QUILT trials initiated in 2017, appear to validate the theory that by orchestrating natural killer and T-cell therapy, survival rates could be improved without high-dose chemotherapy.\n\nThe early collaborative Cancer Moonshot trials involved the combination of cell therapy and immunotherapeutics from multiple biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including NantKwest, ImmunityBio, Celgene, and Pfizer. These trials explored the hypothesis that by activating the patient’s own immune system, a paradigm change in cancer therapy could evolve to eradicate cancer cells without high-dose chemotherapy. From 2017 to 2020, multiple QUILT clinical trials exploring this combination of cell the...