NKMAX, Merck and Pfizer Joint Clinical Trial First Patient Dosed... "Interim Results to be Announced Next Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] NKMAX announced on the 25th that it has completed the first patient dosing in the US joint clinical trial with Merck and Pfizer. The last patient dosing (Last Injection) is planned for March next year.

NKMAX started dosing (First Injection) for 2 out of 18 patients in the immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy group (clinical Cohort 4) of the US Phase 1 clinical trial targeting refractory cancer (solid tumors unresponsive to existing treatments). The dosed patients are subjects for the ‘SNK01 + Bavencio’ combination therapy under the joint clinical trial agreement with Merck and Pfizer. The third patient dosing is scheduled for next week.

The Phase 1 clinical trial was changed from the ‘SNK01’ monotherapy trial to a combination therapy trial with Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) and Bavencio (Avelumab) following the US FDA’s special approval for ‘Cohort 4’ in September and the joint clinical trial agreement with Merck and Pfizer. All clinical costs related to Bavencio used in this trial are fully covered by Merck and Pfizer. The patent rights for the ‘SNK01 + Bavencio’ combination therapy will be jointly owned by Merck, Pfizer, and NKMAX in the future.

Paul Y. Song, Vice President of NKMAX America, said, “Patient recruitment and dosing for ‘Cohort 4’ are currently underway in consultation with Merck and Pfizer, and interim clinical results are planned to be presented at major conferences next year. We also expect technology transfer to global pharmaceutical companies through excellent clinical outcomes.”