NetScientific said its portfolio company PDS Biotechnology announced “promising interim data” relating to its VERSATILE-002 Phase 2 clinical trial.
A statement from the investment and commercialisation group said the trial is investigating PDS0101 in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA in patients with unresectable, recurrent, or metastatic human papillomavirus (HPV)16-positive head and neck cancer.
PDS Biotechnology, the portfolio company focused on cancer and infectious disease, said the combination of PDS0101 with KEYTRUDA was “well tolerated, and the results justify a global confirmatory randomised, controlled study.”
48 participants took part in the study, 94% of whom were male with a median age of 62.5% and received at least one cycle.
Over half, 56.3%, received four doses of the combination, while 22.9% received five doses.
Data also showed an estimated 12-month survival rate and a progression-free survival of 10.4 months “which is very encouraging given the poor prognosis these patients face,” according to Lauren v Wood, PDS Biotech’s chief medical officer and co-author of the study.