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PDS Biotech Announces Plan to Initiate Phase 3 Study Evaluating PDS0101 in Combination with KEYTRUDA® in Head and Neck Cancer in 2023
Company has completed Phase 3 manufacturing of PDS0101 for randomized, controlled, registrational trial in recurrent/metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck
About this update from Pds Biotechnology Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Company has completed Phase 3 manufacturing of PDS0101 for randomized, controlled, registrational trial in recurrent/metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck cancer\nFLORHAM PARK, N.J., March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease, announced that it has completed key tech transfer, scale up and manufacturing activities required to initiate a global, multicenter Phase 3 registrational trial investigating the combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Phase 3 trial, named VERSATILE-003, will investigate the combination compared to KEYTRUDA® monotherapy for the treatment of unresectable, recurrent/metastatic human papillomavirus (HPV) 16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In preparation for the VERSATILE-003 trial, PDS Biotech plans to submit an amended Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the third quarter of 2023. VERSATILE-003 is expected to involve approximately 90-100 clinical sites globally. PDS Biotech’s plan to initiate the VERSATILE-003 trial follows the successful completion of an End-of-Phase 2 meeting in the third quarter of last year with the FDA, during which PDS Biotech received guidance from the FDA on key elements of the Phase 3 program that will support the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA). Data reported at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting indicated the combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA® achieved an objective response rate of 41% and an overall survival rate of 87% at nine months in 17 evaluable patients with HPV16 and PD-L1 positive recurrent or metastatic HNSCC. Safety data reported on the first 43 patients enrolled in the trial suggested that the combination was well tolerated with no treatment-related Grade 3 or 4 Adverse Events. Based on these data, the FDA granted Fast Track designation to the combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA for the treatment of HPV16-positive HNSCC. “With the maturing data from VERSATILE-002, we are pleased to now have visibility into the progression free survival and potential overall survival, and we are excited to mov...