NetScientific PLC (AIM:NSCI) reported that its portfolio company, PDS Biotechnology Corporation has announced expanded interim data in a Phase 2 clinical trial investigating the PDS0101-based triple combination therapy in advanced human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive cancers.
All patients in the study had failed prior treatment with chemotherapy and 90% had failed radiation treatment, said PDS, a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease, in a statement,
The interim data, based on 50 evaluable patients, including 29 who had also failed treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, showed a median overall survival of 21 months in the latter group, compared with a reported historical median of 3-4 months.
In checkpoint inhibitor-naïve subjects, 75% remained alive at a median follow-up of 27 months. An objective response rate of 63% and 88% were reported in checkpoint inhibitor-refractory and checkpoint inhibitor-naïve patients, respectively.
In the statement, Dr Frank Bedu-Addo, president and chief executive of PDS Biotech said: "The expanded data continue to demonstrate the durability and tolerability of the PDS0101-based triple combination therapy in advanced HPV-positive cancers, an extremely challenging population of refractory and previously untreatable HPV-positive patients."
Dr Ilian Iliev, CEO of NetScientific, commented: "We are delighted with this expanded interim data from PDS . The triple combination Phase 2 trial is being conducted at the prestigious Center for Cancer Research (CCR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the United States' Institutes of the National Institutes of Health."
NetScientific is an investment and commercialisation group with an international portfolio of innovative life science, sustainability and technology companies. It identifies, invests in, and builds high-growth companies in the UK and internationally. The company adds value through the proactive management of its portfolio, progressing to key value inflection points, and delivering investment returns through partial or full liquidity events.