Scancell intends to develop SCIB2 for treatment of lung cancer

SCIB2 will be studied in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor and follow the publication of data in journal OncoImmunology, which showed the drug demonstrated potent anti-tumour immunity.

Data from the phase 1/2 clinical trial showed that SCIB1, when used as monotherapy, has a marked effect on tumour load, produces a melanoma-specific immune response and highly encouraging survival trend without severe side effects.

In patients with resected disease there is increasing evidence to indicate that SCIB1 could delay or avoid disease recurrence.

Scancell said pre-clinical data on a combination of SCIB1 or SCIB2 and checkpoint inhibition have demonstrated improved tumour destruction and significantly longer survival times than when either treatment was used alone.

The company said it will now start to assemble a lung cancer investigator team in the US to assist in finalizing the clinical trial design.

Scancell CEO Richard Goodfellow said: "The data we have generated to date with the SCIB2 ImmunoBody suggest that it should be well tolerated and be an ideal complement to existing and emerging portfolios of checkpoint inhibitor therapies in the treatment of NSCLC.

Scancell chief scientific officer Lindy Durrant said: "Our clinical experience with the first ImmunoBody, SCIB1, in the melanoma setting will greatly facilitate planning and execution of our planned lung cancer clinical trials with SCIB2.  

“We believe that success with this clinical programme will highlight that ImmunoBody has the potential to be applicable to cancers with very different characteristics and underlying genetics."  

The company’s ImmunoBody treatments target dendritic cells and stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system.

Image: Scancell said it intends to develop its SCIB2 ImmunoBody for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer. Photo: courtesy of jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.