Dosing starts in Ph I trial of Immutep's pancreatic cancer drug

Orsay, France-based drug developer Immutep SA says that the first pancreatic cancer patients have been given IMP321 in a Phase I trial  conducted in the USA.

IMP321 is a first-in-class immunopotentiator that stimulates  antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells and monocytes, leading  to markedly improved cytotoxic CD8 T cells responses against tumors in  patients. The pancreatic cancer trial follows the promising results  obtained in metastatic breast cancer with a similar chemo-immunotherapy  protocol.

The open-label, two-arm, dose-escalation trial in advanced pancreatic  cancer, treated by first-line gemcitabine alone or associated with  increasing doses of IMP321. Investigators will assess the safety and  tolerability of this new chemo-immunotherapy combination. The other  points to be studied include IMP321's pharmacokinetics,  pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity, a preliminary assessment of anti-tumor  activity as well as the exploration of the molecule's mechanism of  action.