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4 weeks ago
SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) (“NKGen” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous and allogeneic natural killer (“NK”) cell therapeutics, today announced promising early interim data from the Phase 1 cohort and the dosing of the first Phase 2 patient in the Phase 1/2a clinical trial of troculeucel, NKGen’s cryopreserved autologous enhanced NK cell therapy for the treatment of moderate Alzheimer’s disease (“AD”).
The Phase 1 cohort is already demonstrating positive interim results. Early independent review of the data shows that after only three months treatment with a dose of 6 billion cells per treatment, the three patients in the Phase 1 cohort had no drug-related adverse reactions, and exploratory efficacy analyses showed that two of the three patients went from a moderate to a mild AD rating on the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (“CDR-SB”) scale. These findings further support the company’s MX04 Phase 1 AD study, where the one moderate AD patient who received the highest dose in that study (4 billion cells) also went from a moderate to a mild rating on the CDR-SB. Additionally, six-month interim cognitive data from Phase 1 cohort patients receiving troculeucel is expected to be disclosed at an upcoming national Alzheimer’s conference in Q4 2024.
Building upon positive interim Phase 1 results of troculeucel in moderate Alzheimer’s patients, the Company is pleased to have dosed its first patient in the Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of troculeucel compared to placebo in patients with moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Troculeucel will be evaluated for effectiveness and additional safety in a broader cohort of 30 patients with moderate Alzheimer’s disease, employing a randomized, double-blind setup (n=20 randomly assigned to the treatment arm and n=10 to placebo). The Phase 2 trial aims to provide a thorough understanding of both the potential benefits and limitations of troculeucel in treating Alzheimer’s disease, thereby validating its potential therapeutic efficacy. NKGen has now activated four clinical sites across North America and expects to increase enrollment in the coming months.
“We continue to make great progress with our troculeucel clinical program in AD,” said Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and CEO of NKGen. “In the Phase 1 cohort of the Phase 1/2a study, we can proudly announce two of our first three patients have been clinically upgraded from moderate to mild AD following only three months of treatment with troculeucel. Additionally, we have recently dosed the first patient in the Phase 2 cohort, which is a significant milestone, particularly since the dose used is cryopreserved and continuing at our highest dosing of 6 billion cells per treatment. With encouraging cognitive improvements and a favorable safety profile from the trial’s Phase 1 interim analysis, dosing our first patient in Phase 2 is a crucial step towards creating a much-needed treatment option for patients facing this challenging condition. We are particularly eager to explore the enhanced cognitive benefits that ongoing usage of the higher dosing may bring in our Phase 2 trial.”
Volcano
4 months ago
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) (“NKGen” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous, allogeneic and CAR-NK natural killer (“NK”) cell therapeutics, today announced that Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NKGen Biotech, will present details on their cryopreserved allogeneic NK cell therapy platform as well as updated Phase 1 data on its use in solid tumors without lymphodepletion at the 6th Annual Allogeneic Cell Therapies Summit to be held in Boston, MA, from June 10-12, 2024.
Presentation Details:
Title: Protecting Patients by Removing Need for Lymphodepletion to Better Preserve Immune Function
Conference Track: Clinical Track
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 12:00 pm ET
Dr. Song’s presentation will detail the Company’s novel allogeneic blood-derived NK cell therapy (“SNK02”) commercial manufacturing and cryopreservation process, as well provide an update on their initial Phase 1 results using SNK02 to treat patients with advanced refractory solid tumors. Furthermore, Dr. Song will explore the potential benefits of eliminating pre-treatment lymphodepletion in patients undergoing SNK02 therapy, aiming to safeguard immune function and aid in recovery. Avoiding lymphodepletion before administering cancer treatment can provide many benefits including reduced toxicity, preservation of immune function, and potentially enhancing treatment efficacy. The presentation will also include a discussion on an unexpected discovery from the SNK02 Phase 1 trial, hinting at its possible applicability as a treatment for patients beyond cancer.
Volcano
4 months ago
SNK02 has the potential to be a first-in-class cryopreserved allogeneic NK cell therapy for solid tumors that does not require lymphodepletion before administration, which may lead to better overall synergy in future combination regimens with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
In this Phase 1 trial, the best objective response of stable disease was demonstrated in 100% of patients that completed 8 treatment cycles of SNK02.
SNK02 was well tolerated as a monotherapy and appears to have some clinical activity against pretreated solid tumors despite the lack of lymphodepletion.
SANTA ANA, Calif., May 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) (“NKGen” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous, allogeneic and CAR-NK natural killer (“NK”) cell therapeutics, today announced an online publication, titled “Interim Analysis of a Phase I Study using Cryopreserved Non-genetically Modified Allogeneic Natural Killer Cells With Enhanced Cytotoxicity (SNK02) in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors without Lymphodepletion” at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (“ASCO”) Annual Meeting to be held virtually and at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois from May 31–June 4, 2024.
This Phase 1 clinical trial is a multi-center, open-label study evaluating the safety and tolerability of SNK02 in participants with pathologically confirmed solid tumors refractory to standard of care therapy. The study drug, SNK02, is a first-in-kind, cryopreserved allogeneic non-genetically modified NK cell product with significant anti-tumor cytotoxicity and over 90% expression of CD16, NKG2D, NKp46, and DNAM-1, that can be consistently produced on a large commercial scale. SNK02 was administered as an intravenous infusion (IV), weekly for eight weeks in patients with advanced solid tumors. The starting dose was 6x109 SNK02 cells. We hypothesized that higher doses of SNK02 (to overcome autodigestion) could be delivered frequently without the need for lymphodepletion and that it might demonstrate activity against solid tumors that have failed multiple prior standard-of-care treatment options. The primary endpoint was safety based on adverse events (AEs), vitals, laboratory tests, and physical exams. Tolerability of SNK02 and maximum tolerated dose were also evaluated.
“Interim data from our Phase 1 clinical study utilizing our second NK cell therapy product, SNK02, demonstrated that the treatment was well-tolerated as a monotherapy in patients with solid tumors refractory to standard of care therapy,” said Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and CEO of NKGen. “We are particularly excited because SNK02 has the potential to be a first-in-class cryopreserved allogeneic NK cell therapy for solid tumors that does not require lymphodepletion before administration, which may lead to better overall synergy in future combination regimens especially with immune checkpoint inhibitors where a robust T-cell response is needed. Using our proprietary allogeneic manufacturing and cryopreservation processes, we are capable of producing hundreds of thousands of potential doses of enhanced NK cell therapies from materials collected from a single donor. Thus, our potential to treat a significant number of cancer patients with SNK02 is remarkably high. We are pleased to see such promising Phase 1 trial results for both of our unique cell therapy candidates: autologous SNK01 for neurodegenerative disease and allogeneic SNK02 for cancer.”
Volcano
5 months ago
SANTA ANA, Calif., May 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) (“NKGen” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous, allogeneic and CAR-NK natural killer (“NK”) cell therapeutics, today announced that Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NKGen, will present highlights of the Company’s cryopreserved, autologous, non-genetically modified NK cell therapy product, SNK01, which has demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity and activating receptor expression for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and solid tumors, at the 5th International Cell & Gene Therapy China Summit & Exhibition (CGCS) to be held in Nanjing, China, from May 22–24, 2024.
CGCS will showcase exclusive new data in the several areas, including solid tumor treatment, off-the-shelf therapy, innovative cell therapy, AAV gene therapy, affordability of CGT, global cooperation, RNA therapeutics, and CGT commercialization. CGCS 2024 anticipates over 6,000 global attendees, more than 200 exhibitors, greater than 200 world-class speakers from large pharma, innovative biotech, and academia.
NKGen Presentation Details:
Title: Autologous NK Cell Therapy
Session: A: Cell Therapy Focus
Section: A2: Original Innovation in Cell Therapy – Universal and Solid Tumor Treatment
Date and Time: May 23, 2024, at 4:30 PM CST (China Standard Time) UTC/GMT +8
Dr. Song’s presentation will cover a variety of important topics, including industry challenges in manufacturing autologous NK cells at scale, which has been successfully overcome by NKGen’s next-gen CMC manufacturing process in its production of its autologous NK cell therapy product, SNK01. In addition, Dr. Song will discuss the results from SNK01 treatment in combination with either immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced solid tumors, or, in combination with Erbitux in tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistant non-small cell lung cancer.
The presentation will also include the scientific rationale and supporting data behind the use of SNK01 in neurodegenerative disease specifically emphasizing the ability of SNK01 to improve levels of amyloid beta, tau, and alpha-synuclein proteins as well as GFAP, NfL, and YKL-40, which are elevated in numerous neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lewy Body Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, Multisystem Atrophy, and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy alluding to the potential use of SNK01 to treat these diseases or as a possible prevention in high risk asymptomatic patients with elevated biomarkers.