On April 25, 2023 ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, reported the opening of a clinical trial to study its investigational Tri-Ad5 vaccine combination (Adenovirus 5 CEA/MUC1/brachyury) together with its IL-15 superagonist N-803, an immune-enhancer, for people with a hereditary condition known as Lynch syndrome (Press release, ImmunityBio, APR 25, 2023, View Source [SID1234630467]). This Phase 2b trial (NCT05419011) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, will study whether Tri-Ad5 in combination with N-803 works to prevent colorectal and other cancers in study participants.
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Each of the three vaccines in Tri-Ad5 targets different proteins associated with precancer and cancer cells. The vaccine combination is studying whether activation of dendritic cells and training the immune system to recognize those proteins will destroy the precancer cells before the cancer advances. N-803 is designed to enhance the effects of the vaccines by increasing proliferation and activation of natural killer (NK) and T cells, thereby increasing the potential for cancer prevention in study participants.
"We are excited to partner with the NCI on this important cancer vaccine study to potentially prevent or delay the onset of cancer for people who carry the gene associated with Lynch syndrome," said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Executive Chairman and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at ImmunityBio. "Lynch syndrome affects tens of thousands of people each year and the average age of cancer diagnosis for them is just 44. People known to have the gene for Lynch syndrome can be followed closely by their doctors with regular examinations and scans to watch for the development of cancer but, currently, there is no treatment that prevents the development of cancer in these patients. We hope to change that with this innovative study developed by the NCI."
Lynch syndrome is one of the most common hereditary cancer syndromes. Not only can people with Lynch syndrome develop colorectal cancer some 20 years before the average age of diagnosis for this cancer, they are also at an increased risk of developing multiple types of other cancers, including endometrial, stomach, ovarian, pancreas, ureter and renal pelvis, biliary tract, brain, and small intestinal cancers. Colorectal cancer is the second-deadliest cancer type in the U.S., and approximately 3% to 5% of the 153,000 cases of colorectal cancer annually are thought to be due to Lynch Syndrome, as are 2% to 3% of all cases of endometrial cancer.2 "The Tri-Ad5 vaccine trial will be the largest Lynch syndrome cancer prevention study done in the U.S.," said Asad Umar, D.V.M., Ph.D., a senior advisor to the director for translational research in NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) and a scientific lead for the trial.
To learn more about this study, please visit View Source
For patients interested in enrolling in this study, please contact NCI’s toll-free number 1-800-4-Cancer (1-800-422-6237) (TTY: 1-800-332-8615) and/or the website: View Source and/or [email protected].
About ImmunityBio’s Tri-Ad5 Vaccines
ImmunityBio’s Tri-Ad5 vaccines target three tumor-associated antigens: brachyury, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and mucin-1 (MUC1). Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated Tri-Ad5 vaccines elicit cytotoxic T cell-mediated tumor cell death and the establishment of memory T cells, and thus may provide protection against the growth and metastasis of cancer. Tri-Ad5 vaccines utilize a second-generation replication-defective human adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vector with viral genes deleted to allow for production of the antigen and a vigorous immune response, without generating a host response to the vector and with the ability to overcome previous adenovirus immunity in cancer patients. Notably, in a phase 1 NCI trial, Tri-Ad5 generated antigen-specific T cells to MUC1, CEA, and/or brachyury in all 10 patients with no evidence of antigenic competition. The safety of multiple ImmunityBio product candidates utilizing the Ad5 technology has been demonstrated in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for cancers across multiple tumor types.