On July 21, 2026 IMUNON, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNN), a clinical-stage company in Phase 3 development with its DNA-mediated immunotherapy, reported new positive preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 2 minimal residual disease (MRD) translational clinical trial of IMNN-001, conducted in combination with standard of care neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy (N/ACT) plus bevacizumab, in women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
This cutting-edge translational study is being conducted through the Break Through Cancer Targeting Minimal Residual Disease in Ovarian Cancer TeamLab, a multi-institutional collaboration accelerating research in ovarian cancer. The multi-site study is led by investigators at The University of Texas (UT) MD Anderson Cancer Center, which serves as the lead clinical site. Its objectives include understanding how chemo-immunotherapy with IMNN-001 impacts ovarian cancer’s "cold" tumor microenvironment and MRD after frontline treatment.
Nine patients in each of the control and experimental arms (total target accrual of 30 patients, 15 in each arm) have reached second-look laparoscopy (SLL), the study’s primary assessment point for surgical MRD. Compared to control, preliminary results show a deeper antitumor response, as demonstrated by a lower MRD-positive rate, in patients treated with IMNN-001 (44% vs. 67%), a higher rate of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) clearance (87.5% vs. 62.5%), and a numerically higher rate of patients achieving no evidence of disease (NED) following frontline therapy (100% vs. 56%).
"We are encouraged by these new data points from our MRD study, which continue to build the case for IMNN-001’s potential to make a meaningful difference for women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer," said Stacy Lindborg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of IMUNON. "These findings, together with the consistent safety profile we’ve now observed across multiple studies, reinforce that we have overcome the historical safety and efficacy barriers associated with the development of a novel IL-12 immunotherapy and further bolster our confidence in IMNN-001 as we continue to advance our pivotal Phase 3 OVATION 3 trial."
"These new findings from the MRD study add an important layer of evidence to what we’ve observed with IMNN-001 to date," said study principal investigator, Amir Jazaeri, M.D., professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at UT MD Anderson. "The reduction in residual disease and the encouraging ctDNA clearance we’re seeing, together with a consistent safety and tolerability profile, strongly support the continued investigation of IMNN-001’s role in the frontline treatment of ovarian cancer."
These new MRD findings build on results from the Company’s completed Phase 2 OVATION 2 study, in which IMNN-001 was associated with a 14.7-month increase in median overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone (45.1 vs. 30.4 months), and a 24.2-month increase among patients who also received PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy (65.6 vs. 41.4 months). The positive tolerability profile of IMNN-001 observed in prior studies has continued in the MRD study, including in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy plus bevacizumab and in the maintenance setting, with no cytokine release syndrome, systemic toxicities, or serious immune-related adverse events observed to date. IMNN-001 is now being evaluated in the Company’s pivotal Phase 3 OVATION 3 trial, enrolling patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer at clinical sites across the U.S.
Reinforcing previously published phase 2 data, new translational data from the MRD study also continue to support IMNN-001’s proposed mechanism of action. IMNN-001 induces robust expression of IL-12 in macrophages within the peritoneal fluid and tumor tissue, stimulating a cascade of anti-tumor cytokines, including interferon-gamma, and resulting in potent macrophage and T cell activation. These findings are consistent with a shift in the tumor immune microenvironment from "cold" to "hot," activating both innate and adaptive immune responses.
"We remain focused on generating a comprehensive body of evidence for IMNN-001 across our clinical program," added Dr. Lindborg. "The MRD study, together with our Phase 2 OVATION 2 results and the ongoing pivotal Phase 3 OVATION 3 trial, continues to build a consistent picture of IMNN-001’s benefit-risk profile in frontline ovarian cancer treatment."
About the Translational Phase 2 MRD Study
The Phase 2 MRD study (NCT05739981) is evaluating IMNN-001 in combination with standard-of-care neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer, conducted through the Break Through Cancer Targeting Minimal Residual Disease in Ovarian Cancer TeamLab. Patients in the experimental arm receive IMNN-001, administered intraperitoneally, in combination with N/ACT plus bevacizumab, followed by interval cytoreductive surgery and additional cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy plus IMNN-001. Patients then undergo second-look laparoscopy (SLL) to assess for minimal residual disease, followed by maintenance therapy assigned according to homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status. The primary endpoint of the study is MRD-positive rate at SLL; the secondary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS). The study also includes serial translational analyses of tumor tissue, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), microbiome, and intraperitoneal fluid, to further characterize IMNN-001’s impact on the tumor immune microenvironment.
About IMNN-001 Immunotherapy
Designed using IMUNON’s proprietary TheraPlas platform technology, IMNN-001 is an IL-12 DNA plasmid vector encased in a nanoparticle delivery system that enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein. IL-12 is one of the most active cytokines for the induction of potent anticancer immunity, acting through the induction of T-lymphocyte and natural killer cell proliferation. IMUNON previously reported positive safety and encouraging Phase 1 results with IMNN-001 administered as monotherapy or as combination therapy in patients with advanced peritoneally metastasized primary or recurrent ovarian cancer, and completed a Phase 1b dose-escalation trial (the OVATION 1 Study) of IMNN-001 in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel neoadjuvantly in patients with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer. IMUNON previously reported positive results from the completed Phase 2 OVATION 2 Study, which assessed IMNN-001 (100 mg/m2 administered intraperitoneally weekly) plus neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy (N/ACT) of paclitaxel and carboplatin compared to standard-of-care N/ACT alone in 112 patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.
About Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer is the sixth deadliest malignancy among women in the U.S. There are approximately 20,000 new cases of ovarian cancer every year and approximately 70% are diagnosed in advanced stage III/IV. Epithelial ovarian cancer is characterized by dissemination of tumors in the peritoneal cavity with a high risk of recurrence (75%, stage III/IV) after surgery and chemotherapy. Since the five-year survival rates of patients with stage III/IV disease at diagnosis are poor (41% and 20%, respectively), there remains a need for a therapy that not only reduces the recurrence rate but also improves overall survival. The peritoneal cavity of advanced ovarian cancer patients contains the primary tumor environment and is an attractive target for a regional approach to immune modulation.
(Press release, IMUNON, JUL 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234669355])