On November 15, 2018 INmune Bio, Inc., an immunotherapy company developing treatments to reprogram the patient’s innate immune system, reported that Lazar Vujanovic, Ph.D., a research instructor at the University of Pittsburgh, presented results from a preliminary study at the 33rd annual Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) meeting on November 9 (Press release, INmune Bio, NOV 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234531521]). The results of the research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, demonstrated the potential effectiveness of INB03TM, the company’s lead drug candidate in treatment of drug-resistant melanoma, which was developed from patented intellectual property licensed from the University of Pittsburgh.
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"The study’s findings indicate a potential shift in approach to how clinicians may treat patients who harbor treatment-resistant cutaneous melanomas by using TNF receptors as biomarkers," said Dr. Vujanovic. "These results, showing the effectiveness of biomarker-guided soluble TNF-targeting strategy, are an encouraging development in potentially raising the standard of care for patients with treatment-resistant melanoma, which kills thousands each year."
Soluble TNF (sTNF) is an immunologic protein that has multiple functions in the development of cutaneous melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In a cohort of patients, sTNF facilitates tumor growth and drug resistance. Dr. Vujanovic’s data shows that sTNF may induce drug resistance and suggests that some melanoma patients may benefit from neutralization of sTNF with a drug like INB03. As an innate immunotherapy drug currently in Phase I trials, INB03 is being used in patients to neutralizes sTNF using a novel Dominant-Negative TNF technology.
"At INmune Bio we believe that, when possible, a patient’s cancer therapy should be guided by biomarkers that can better predict a favorable response to therapy," said INmune Bio co-founder and CEO, Raymond J. Tesi, M.D. "Dr. Vujanovic’s work is an example of how laboratory studies are the foundation of important concepts that can alter the treatment of cancer patients."
SITC is one of the leading organizations for the exchanging of ideas and discovery in the cancer immunotherapy field.