![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/6-K/0001193125-23-199664/g515989g89v45.jpg)
patients enrolled in the open-label lead-in portion of the trial. This lead-in portion of 6 to 12 patients dosed at 90mg efti will be followed by a randomized (1:1) portion of the Phase II consisting of up to 58 evaluable patients who will receive 30mg efti or 90mg efti to determine the optimal biological dose in combination with paclitaxel.
INSIGHT-003 – Phase I in 1st line NSCLC
Immutep reported new encouraging clinical data in 1L NSCLC patients in May from the INSIGHT-003 trial, an investigator-initiated Phase I trial conducted by the Frankfurt Institute of Clinical Cancer Research IKF as part of the investigator-initiated INSIGHT platform of studies. The new data showed the therapy is well tolerated and promising initial efficacy signals were observed including a 67% response rate and 91% disease control rate in metastatic 1st line non-small cell lung cancer patients, despite 81% of patients having low or negative PD-L1 expression.
INSIGHT-005 – Phase I trial in Urothelial Carcinoma
Regulatory approval was received from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (“PEI”), German Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, to initiate INSIGHT-005 in May. This study is an investigator-initiated trial, open-label Phase I trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of efti in combination with BAVENCIO® (avelumab) in up to 30 patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma which is being conducted by Frankfurt Institute of Clinical Cancer Research IKF as part of the investigator-initiated INSIGHT platform.
EFTISARC-NEO - Phase II Trial in Soft Tissue Sarcoma
The investigator-initiated study, EFTISARC-NEO, was initiated by the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in April. The study is an open-label Phase II trial evaluating efti in combination with radiotherapy and pembrolizumab in up to 40 soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients in the neoadjuvant (prior to surgery) setting and is the first time efti will be studied in neoadjuvant, non-metastatic cancer setting. The first patient has been enrolled and safely dosed in July 2023.
IMP761 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE
In May, Immutep appointed a clinical research organisation to conduct its GLP toxicology study evaluating the safety and toxicity of IMP761, Immutep’s proprietary preclinical candidate and the world’s first LAG-3 agonist for autoimmune diseases. This study is a key step before the commencement of first-in-human trials to treat the underlying cause of multiple autoimmune diseases.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Immutep was granted three patents during the quarter. A new patent was granted by the US Patent Office protecting Immutep’s intellectual property for treating cancer by administering efti and a PD-1 pathway inhibitor, specifically BMS-936559, durvalumab, atezolizumab or avelumab.
The US Patent Office also granted a new patent for composition-of-matter claims covering Immutep’s pre-clinical immunosuppressive product candidate, IMP761, which is designed to target the root cause of autoimmune diseases by directly silencing self-antigen-specific effector T cells.
Finally, the Japan Patent Office granted a new patent protecting Immutep’s intellectual property for a potency assay for release testing of efti which is used in the commercial-scale (2,000L) manufacturing process for efti. This new Japanese patent follows the grant of a similar patents in Australia and South Korea in 2023 and 2022 respectively.