TILT Biotherapeutics has presented preliminary safety and efficacy data from their ongoing Phase I clinical trial in platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer patients at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024.

“We are excited to see the latest ongoing positive potential to bring a more effective treatment to patients with refractory ovarian cancer that have few other treatment options. Importantly, an immune response and reduction in tumour size was seen from intratumoral injections of the combination therapy as well as those away from the tumour site, which demonstrates the potential for a systemic response,” says TILT Biotherapeutics’ founder and CEO, Akseli Hemminki.

TILT-123 in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA was safe and demonstrated signs of efficacy in both platinum resistant and refractory ovarian cancer patients. Analysis of biological samples revealed insights into mechanism of action, including an immunological profile potentially predictive of clinical response.

TILT-123 in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA was safe and demonstrated signs of efficacy in both platinum resistant and refractory ovarian cancer patients.”

The study results were based on 15 patients who received intratumoral or intraperitoneal doses of TILT-123 therapy in combination with intravenous doses of pembrolizumab in an open label phase I clinical trial using a standard 3+3 dose escalation scheme. Notably, disease control was seen in 71% of evaluable patients including one long lasting partial response in a patient with mucinous carcinoma. Tumor size reductions and significant immunomodulation were seen in injected and non-injected tumors, indicating the potential for a systemic response. The results demonstrated that a strong humoral response and increased presence of IgE+ plasma cells significantly correlated with clinical response and overall survival. They also revealed insights into the mechanism of action of the combination therapy.

TILT-123

TILT-123, an oncolytic adenovirus armed with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-2 (IL-2), is designed to enhance the efficacy of T-cell therapies, including immune checkpoint blockade or adoptive cell transfer 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.

Photo of Akseli Hemminki