This name reflects the company’s focus on advancing the science of cytokine-based immunotherapy for the treatment of a range of cancers.
Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics general partner and board chair Charles Cherington said: “Cytokine-based immunotherapy overcomes immune suppression to activate an immune attack on tumors by upregulating multiple checkpoints and represents an exciting new approach to treating cancer.
“In a Phase 2A clinical trial, IRX-2, our clinical drug candidate, demonstrated an improvement in progression free survival and overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We believe this unique injectable cytokine mixture amplified from normal donor lymphocytes has the potential to improve patient outcomes both as a single agent and in combination with other anti-cancer agents.
“We are committed to exploring this potential in a range of solid tumors including breast cancer, cervical and vulvar neoplasms, renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric and esophageal cancer as well as other solid tumor indications.”
A global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2B clinical trial of IRX-2 (INSPIRE trial, clinicaltrials.gov NCT02609386) in 105 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma has completed enrollment with results expected in mid-2020 (CIN: NCT03267680, Breast: NCT02950259).
About IRX-2
IRX-2 is a proprietary therapeutic containing numerous active cytokine components, which data suggests may restore and activate multiple immune cell types, including T cells, dendritic cells and natural killer cells, which are known to recognize and attack tumors.
IRX-2 is a primary cell-derived biologic produced by stimulation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from healthy donor whole blood. Data collected to date suggest that IRX-2 reduces the immune suppression that is often seen in the cancer tumor microenvironment.
This immunomodulatory activity appears to occur through the restoration of immune function and activation of a coordinated immune response against the tumor.
Source: Company Press Release