Nektar Therapeutics Announces Publication of Results from Phase 1 Dose-Escalation Study for Bempegaldesleukin Plus Nivolumab in 'Cancer Discovery' Journal

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[{"type":"text","content":"SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today announced the publication of Phase 1 clinical data for its lead immuno-oncology candidate, bempegaldesleukin (BEMPEG: NKTR-214) in combination with nivolumab, in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Previously published Phase 1 data in Cancer Discovery on BEMPEG, a CD122-preferential IL-2 pathway agonist, demonstrated that when administered as a monotherapy, it was well tolerated and showed clinical activity, including tumor shrinkage and durable disease stabilization, in heavily pretreated patients with solid tumor cancers.1 The manuscript published today presents the safety, immune-activation and efficacy results from a Phase 1 dose-escalation study conducted in 38 patients with immunotherapy-naïve, advanced solid tumors, including melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).\nThis manuscript, entitled \"Bempegaldesleukin (NKTR-214) Plus Nivolumab in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors: Phase 1 Dose-Escalation Study of Safety, Efficacy & Immune Activation (PIVOT-02),\" is published online and can be accessed here https://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2020/05/20/2159-8290.CD-19-1510\nDr. Adi Diab, lead author, Associate Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center noted: \"Our data show that BEMPEG, in combination with nivolumab, increases T-cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment and increases PD-L1 expression on-treatment, leading to very encouraging response rates. Of equal importance, our data did not show an increase in the inflammatory T-cell subtype Th-17, which is known to play a crucial role in mediating the typical checkpoint inhibitor immune-related adverse events. In other words, BEMPEG in combination with nivolumab is well tolerated and induces meaningful tumor and immune responses in solid tumors, such as melanoma, RCC, and NSCLC.\"\nDr. Daniel C. Cho, Associate Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Phase 1 clinical trial director at NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center, one of the co-senior authors on the study, added: \"While checkpoint inhibitors are effective in several tumor types, only a subset of patients derive durable resp...

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