The company has presented Phase I data on its TILT-123 monotherapy, a T-cell activating oncolytic virus for advanced solid tumor patients, in a late-breaking poster at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2023 conference.

Poster 1 demonstrates the safety profile of TILT-123 monotherapy and showcases promising efficacy results, including anti-tumor activity and the induction of immune responses across different cancer types in patients who had exhausted traditional treatment options, states the company. TILT-123 was shown to achieve anti-tumor responses as a monotherapy, which can be seen in injected and non-injected lesions.

Promising results

Notably, TILT-123 monotherapy exhibited excellent tolerability, consistent with other oncolytic virus therapies, opening the door to potential combination therapies. Several such trials are currently underway, reflecting TILT’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of cancer treatment (NCT04217473, NCT05271318, NCT05222932).

“These results from our TUNIMO trial are extremely promising. Our approach shows the potential to make a significant impact in the fight against advanced solid tumors. We are dedicated to advancing the field of cancer immunotherapy and will continue to explore combination therapies and innovative treatment strategies. We thank the patients, and all our academic, clinical, and industry collaborators for their critical contributions to the studies,” says TILT Biotherapeutics’ founder and CEO, Akseli Hemminki.

TILT-123

TILT-123 is an oncolytic adenovirus encoding for interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, designed for recruiting, propagating, and stimulating T-cells for re-invigoration of the tumor microenvironment. TILT’s approach uses oncolytic viruses to selectively replicate in and lyse cancer cells, while simultaneously stimulating immune responses towards the tumor.

TUNIMO (NCT04695327) is a single-arm open-label phase 1 clinical trial designed to assess the safety of TILT-123 monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors which are refractory to standard therapy.  20 patients were enrolled, and the most prevalent cancer types were sarcomas (35%), melanoma (15%) and ovarian cancer (10%).

The primary endpoint was safety by day 85, assessed by adverse events, vital signs, laboratory values and electrocardiogram. Secondary endpoints included evaluation of tumor responses, neutralizing antibodies, analysis of biopsies, virus persistence in blood and shedding.

Photo of Akseli Hemminki: TILT Biotherapeutics