Elicio reports complete responses in pancreatic cancer
- Elicio Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ELTX) reported that three patients with metastatic mKRAS pancreatic cancer achieved confirmed complete radiographic and metabolic responses following treatment with ELI-002 7P and subsequent nivolumab-based therapy.
- The patients, all microsatellite stable and mismatch repair proficient, also showed normalization of the CA19-9 tumor biomarker and sustained mKRAS-specific T-cell responses.
- Subject to funding, Elicio plans to initiate a Phase 1 study to evaluate ELI-002 7P in combination with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel and an anti-PD-1 inhibitor in first-line metastatic mKRAS pancreatic cancer.
Elicio Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ELTX) announced promising clinical observations regarding its lead immunotherapy candidate, ELI-002 7P, in the treatment of metastatic mKRAS pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
While the Phase 2 AMPLIFY-7P study of ELI-002 7P did not meet its primary disease-free survival endpoint in the adjuvant setting, these new observations from the metastatic cohort provide potential evidence of synergy between ELI-002 7P and checkpoint inhibition.
Complete responses are historically rare in metastatic pancreatic cancer, with published data typically citing rates of approximately 0% to 8% for patients treated with standard chemotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, or RAS inhibitors.
The company believes the persistence of mKRAS-specific T cells, even after initial progression on ELI-002 7P, may have primed the tumors to become more sensitive to subsequent immune checkpoint blockade.
Elicio is now focused on prospectively testing this combination strategy, aiming to determine if the immunotherapeutic approach can improve clinical outcomes in a disease where few effective options exist.
