The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants IO Biotech breakthrough therapy designation for IO102 and IO103 in combination with anti-PD-1 in unresectable/ metastatic melanoma

Source: Cision PR Newswire, December 2021

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — IO Biotech today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation for a combination of the potential therapy IO102 and IO103 with anti-PD-1 mAb for patients with unresectable/ metastatic melanoma.

IO102 and IO103 are IO Biotech’s lead immuno-oncology candidates. Both compounds are based on IO Biotech’s proprietary T-win® technology platform which enables the identification of compounds with a dual mechanism of action targeting and directly killing immunosuppressive cells and tumor cells while indirectly activating other T-effectors, leading to strong anti-tumor responses without adding additional safety concern. Specifically, IO102 and IO103 are first-in-class, immune modulatory vaccines designed to engage and activate IDO and PD-L1 specific human T-cells.

The FDA decision to grant breakthrough therapy was based on data from the MM1636 Phase 1/2 clinical trial with 30 patients with metastatic melanoma receiving IO102, IO103 and anti-PD-1. According to the data recently presented in a late-breaking abstract at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020, the combination of IO102 and IO103 vaccines and nivolumab was shown to be safe with encouraging early efficacy data; an overall response rate (ORR) of 79 percent was reached and 45 percent of patients achieved a complete response (CR), or complete disappearance of their tumors. Vaccine specific T-cells were located in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and at the tumor site.

READ THE ORIGINAL FULL ARTICLE