On June 17, 2026 Nectin Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies, reported the presentation of Phase 1a/1b clinical data of NTX1088 in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda), Merck’s (known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada) anti-PD1 therapy, during an oral presentation at the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in Chicago.
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The data highlighted NTX1088, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting the poliovirus receptor (PVR; CD155), a key regulator of the DNAM1 axis and an important driver of tumor-mediated immune suppression.
The results were presented from the ongoing Phase 1a/1b, open-label, multicenter, dose-escalation and expansion study, NTX-1088-01 (KEYNOTE E92, NCT05378425), evaluating NTX1088 as both a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors.
A total of 91 patients were treated in the study., and NTX1088 was well tolerated, with no dose-limiting toxicities observed. Based on pharmacokinetics and target occupancy, a dose of 1,750 mg was selected as the recommended dose for expansion.
Preliminary efficacy analysis focused on patients receiving active dose levels of NTX1088 (1200 and 1750 mg) in combination with pembrolizumab (200 mg). Among 41 evaluable patients, confirmed partial responses (PRs) were observed across multiple tumor types, including gastric, bladder, non-small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and melanoma.
The study population represented a particularly challenging treatment setting, with a median of four prior lines of therapy and high rates of prior immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) exposure. Additional patients achieved stable disease, and most responding patients were ongoing at data cutoff with a maximum treatment duration of 24 months.
"These Phase 1 results indicate that NTX1088 in combination with pembrolizumab was well tolerated and demonstrated encouraging preliminary anti-tumor activity in a difficult-to-treat, CPI-pretreated population," said Sarina A. Piha-Paul, M.D., lead Principal Investigator of the NTX-1088-01 study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "Based on these findings, further clinical evaluation in Phase 2 studies, including in less heavily pretreated and biomarker-enriched cohorts, is warranted."
(Press release, Nectin Therapeutics, JUN 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234668784])