The company has announced the complete analysis of the data from the Phase II MERECA clinical trial.

The study evaluated the therapeutic impact of the company’s lead candidate, ilixadencel, in combination with Sutent (sunitinib) in metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) patients. The data on survival benefit in all patients showed that a higher percentage of ilixadencel patients were alive as per data cut-off in July 2019. Among the responders, meaning the patients with Complete Responses (CR) and Partial Responses (PR), the addition of ilixadencel to sunitinib induced stronger and more durable tumor responses.

These results indicate that ilixadencel provided a systemic therapeutic benefit while maintaining a positive safety and tolerability profile. Overall the data supports the continued clinical development of ilixadencel as an immune primer in RCC and other solid tumors. Portions of this data were previously communicated on August 29, 2019.

“The purpose of the MERECA trial was to gain the first set of comparative data on what effect ilixadencel has on patients when combined with a standard treatment. The results indicate that ilixadencel benefits patients by clearing tumors at a higher rate and for a longer time than sunitinib alone,” says Carlos de Sousa, CEO of Immunicum. “The results support the continued clinical development of ilixadencel for the benefit of cancer patients, and we look forward to starting the preparations for the pivotal study in RCC.”

Photo of Carlos de Sousa: Immunicum