Ultimovacs Announces Patient Recruitment Discontinuation in LUNGVAC Trial Investigating UV1 Combined with Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Oslo, September 11, 2024: Ultimovacs ASA (“Ultimovacs”) (OSE ULTI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapeutic cancer vaccines, today announced that the company has agreed with the investigators conducting the LUNGVAC trial (NCT05344209) to discontinue patient recruitment. LUNGVAC is an investigator-initiated, randomized Phase II trial designed to assess the impact of UV1 in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab or pembrolizumab as first-line treatment in patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The decision is driven by very slow recruitment in the study, which is primarily due to new treatment options available to NSCLC patients. All 31 patients that have been enrolled in the LUNGVAC study since 2022 will be treated and followed up as per the trial protocol. Topline data from these patients is expected in the first half of 2025.
“We have consulted closely with the LUNGVAC investigators regarding the challenges in trial recruitment which relate to the evolution of standard of care for NSCLC patients and the resulting impact on the number of NSCLC patients eligible for the trial. Based on the investigators’ recommendations, recruitment will stop and the investigators will analyze the data on UV1 in this indication from the patients that have been enrolled so far,” said Carlos de Sousa, Chief Executive Officer at Ultimovacs. “We are grateful to the study investigators, their clinical teams and all patients who enrolled in the trial and we look forward to analyzing the topline data next year.”
Currently, Ultimovacs is investigating UV1 in ovarian cancer in the ongoing Phase II DOVACC trial which evaluates a combination of olaparib and durvalumab +/- UV1 vs. olaparib alone as second-line maintenance treatment of high-grade BRCA negative ovarian cancer. Patients continue to be screened and enrolled in this trial, and topline results are expected to be available in the first half of 2025. Additionally, Ultimovacs is conducting pre-clinical research on a novel drug conjugation platform to investigate its potential applicability, including additional therapeutic modalities for multiple disease areas, such as innovative drug conjugates with favorable pharmacological properties. Ultimovacs will provide an update on this technology platform to the market before the end of 2024.
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About LUNGVAC The LUNGVAC trial is an investigator-initiated, randomized, comparative Phase II clinical trial in which the cancer vaccine UV1 is evaluated in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab or pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of NSCLC patients with advanced or metastatic disease. The trial has enrolled previously untreated patients with adenocarcinoma or squamous NSCLC, where tumor biopsies show a PD-L1-expression score equal to or above 50%. These subgroups represent approximately 30% of all advanced and metastatic NSCLC patients. Professor Odd Terje Brustugun is the principal investigator for the trial, which is sponsored by Drammen Hospital in Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Norway.
About UV1 UV1 is a universal cancer vaccine designed to induce a specific T cell response against telomerase. UV1 consists of long, synthetic peptides, representing a sequence in the reverse transcriptase subunit of telomerase (hTERT), shown to induce CD4+ T cells. These CD4+ T cells have the potential to provide inflammatory signals and T cell support that are believed to be critical for triggering a strong anti-tumor immune response. Following intradermal injection, antigen presenting cells (APCs) in the skin are exposed to the vaccine peptides. These APCs will process the peptides, and present vaccine epitopes on Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) molecules to naïve T cells in the lymph nodes. Activated vaccine-specific T cells will then enter the circulation and search for cells displaying their cognate antigen in the context of HLA molecules.
The UV1 peptides contain several epitopes, shown to be non-restrictive in terms of (HLA) alleles for presentation. It is therefore not required to perform HLA pre-screening of patients, which potentially enables broad population utilization of the vaccine. UV1 is administered over three months as eight intradermal injections together with the immune-modulator, GM-CSF.
About Ultimovacs Ultimovacs is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies against cancer. The product candidate UV1 is an off-the-shelf therapeutic cancer vaccine designed to enhance the benefits of immunotherapy and improve cancer treatment efficacy for patients. UV1 triggers an immune response against the shared cancer antigen telomerase, a target present in 85-90% of all cancer indications across disease stages.
Ultimovacs is investigating the safety and efficacy of UV1 in a wide-ranging clinical development program including various cancer indications and different immunotherapy combinations. The ongoing Phase II program comprises five randomized clinical trials in melanoma, mesothelioma, head and neck cancer, ovarian cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. More than 750 patients in the U.S., Europe, and Australia are being enrolled in all Phase I and Phase II trials in the current program.
Furthermore, Ultimovacs is developing a novel conjugation technology, initially formed to support the expansion of our vaccine pipeline. With the objective of driving value and future pipeline growth, this flexible conjugation technology has the potential to be broadly applicable to a variety of therapeutic modalities, such as innovative drug conjugates with favorable pharmacological properties, and in multiple disease areas.
Ultimovacs is listed on the Euronext Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE:ULTI).
For further information, please see www.ultimovacs.com or contact:
Hans Vassgård Eid, CFO Email: hans.eid@ultimovacs.com Phone: +47 482 48632
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 in the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange announcement was published by Hans Vassgård Eid, CFO at Ultimovacs ASA, on September 11, 2024, at 17:00 CEST.
