The analysis focused on identifying small molecule drug conjugate (SMDC) vintafolide in combination with docetaxel in patients with FR positive recurrent NSCLC.
Endocyte said vintafolide plus docetaxel enhanced overall survival by 2.7 months in NSCLC regardless of histology.
It improved OS by 5.9 months in the predefined subset analysis of patients with adenocarcinoma, which expresses higher levels of folate receptor.
Endocyte president and CEO Ron Ellis said: "The final OS results are consistent with the biology of the folate receptor target, with higher expression levels in the adenocarcinoma subgroup. These data are important in guiding our future studies in NSCLC."
The company said depending on the results to date from the ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation trial of EC1456, a second generation folate-targeted SMDC, the agent will represent a key improvement in the treatment landscape for NSCLC.
Vintafolide is an investigational, injectable SMDC featuring folate (vitamin B9) linked to a potent vinca alkaloid cytotoxic agent, desacetylvinblastine hydrazide (DAVLBH).
It is designed to selectively target the folate receptor for delivering the anti-cancer agent to the cancerous tissue.
Etarfolatide, a non-invasive imaging diagnostic agent, identifies tumors that have high concentrations of the folate receptor.