Inovio Pharmaceuticals Announces Interim Data Analysis

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) has announced an interim data analysis illustrating that its INO-3112 DNA-based immunotherapy generated specific T-cell responses were well tolerated in all evaluable patients.

According to the press release:

The immunology results show that INO-3112 generated robust HPV16/18 specific CD8+ T cell responses and antibodies against HPV16/18 in all 10 tested patients who received all treatments. These results will be presented today and tomorrow at the 30^th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer in National Harbor, MD and on Nov 20-22 at the European Society for Medical Oncology Symposium on Immuno-Oncology in Lausanne, Switzerland.

INO-3112, an active immunotherapy targeting HPV 16/18 combined with a DNA plasmid for IL-12 as an immune activator, is designed to activate patient’s immune responses to specifically kill HPV associated tumors. In this phase I/IIa study, patients with HPV positive head and neck cancer received INO-3112 once every three weeks for a total of four injections.

The characteristics of these immune response data mirror those previously observed in a phase II clinical study of VGX-3100 for HPV-associated cervical dysplasia. In that study, strong CD8+ T cell immune responses were positively correlated with achievement of primary and secondary efficacy endpoints. Data from that trial was recently published in a peer-reviewed article in The Lancet. This publication details that VGX-3100 is the first therapy to demonstrate that activated killer T cells induced in the body have the power to clear neoplastic lesions as well as the virus which caused the disease.

Dr. Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Medical Oncologist at Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and the principal investigator of this study said, “These results are in line with our hypothesis that DNA immunotherapy would lead to activation of the immune system. We are excited to follow these patients and learn about long-term results with this immunotherapy.”

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