ImmuFact IMP321 is a potent natural human immunostimulatory factor designed to amplify the T-cell immune response. It can be used either as an immunopotentiator in therapeutic vaccines or alone at higher doses as a monotherapy or in chemo-immunotherapy.
This trial highlights the potential of IMP321 as a complementary immunotherapy to chemotherapy. The rationale for chemo-immunotherapy is that the chemotherapy causes apoptosis of tumor cells which releases antigens for several days.
These antigens are taken up by the dendritic cell/monocyte network, the so-called antigen-presenting cells (APCs), leading to an immune response against them. By injecting an immunostimulant, especially an APC activator like IMP321, one can boost the network in order to increase the numbers of activated monocytes and CD8 T-cells, both of which are endowed with anti-tumor activity.
The first cohort of eight patients (0.25mg) showed that IMP321 was very well tolerated with a good efficacy profile. The clinical responses were six tumor regressions and one disease stabilization out of eight patients, to be compared to a 35% response rate with chemotherapy alone.