Merus Announces Publication of an Abstract on Petosemtamab as 2L+ treatment of r/m HNSCC at the ESMO Asia Congress 2024
– Petosemtamab 1500 mg monotherapy phase 2 interim data continues to demonstrate clinically meaningful activity in 2L+ HNSCC
– Conference call on
The presentation will be discussed on a conference call on
“Petosemtamab 1500 mg monotherapy continues to demonstrate consistent, durable, and clinically meaningful efficacy in 2L+ r/m HNSCC, underscoring its potential to become a new standard of care,” said
Presentation title: Petosemtamab (MCLA-158) monotherapy in previously treated (2L+) recurrent/metastatic (r/m) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC): Phase 2 trial
Observations in the abstract include:
- As of a
November 6, 2023 data cutoff date 54 pts were treated with 1500 mg Q2W in the expansion cohort reported initially at AACR® 2023- 47* pts were evaluable for response (≥4 months follow up prior to data cutoff date and ≥1 post baseline scan, or early progressive disease (PD)) and overall response rate was 40.4% (19/47 and 1 unconfirmed partial response (PR) that confirmed post cutoff, 20/47) by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1. per investigator assessment
- 7.2 months median duration of response
- 5.1 months median progression free survival
- 12.5 months median overall survival
- As of a
March 6, 2024 data cutoff date, 42 pts were randomized to the 1500 mg vs. 1100 mg dose comparison cohort- At 1500 mg, 12 pts were evaluable for response, 5 responses were observed including 1 complete response, 3 PRs, and 1 unconfirmed PR (confirmed post cutoff)
- At 1100 mg, 10 pts were evaluable for response with 1 confirmed PR observed
- Petosemtamab was well tolerated at both dose levels; no new safety signals observed
- No grade 5 treatment emergent adverse events were reported
*6 pts were excluded per protocol (as previously presented at AACR® 2023): 5 pts withdrew due to infusion related reactions on Day 1; 1 pt had exclusion criteria deviation; 1 pt had <4 months follow up at the data cutoff
Title: Petosemtamab (MCLA-158) monotherapy in previously treated (2L+) recurrent/metastatic (r/m) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC): Phase 2 trial
Abstract #: 411MO
Session Title:
Session Date and Time:
Location Hall: 404
As the full presentation becomes available at the ESMO® Asia
Company Conference Call and Webcast Information
Merus will hold a conference call and webcast for investors on December 7, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. ET. A replay will be available after the completion of the call in the Investors and Media section of our website for a limited time.
Date & Time: Dec. 07, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. ET
Webcast link: Available on our website
Dial-in: Toll Free: 1 (800) 715-9871/ International: 1 (646) 307-1963
Conference ID: 1978503
About Head and Neck Cancer
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) describes a group of cancers that develop in the squamous cells that line the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, throat, and larynx. These cancers begin when healthy cells change and grow in an unchecked manner, ultimately forming tumors. HNSCC is generally associated with tobacco consumption, alcohol use and/or HPV infections, depending on where they develop geographically. HNSCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and it is estimated that there were more than 930,000 new cases and over 465,000 deaths from HNSCC globally in 2020.¹ The incidence of HNSCC continues to rise and is anticipated to increase by 30% to more than 1 million new cases annually by 2030.² HNSCC is a serious and life-threatening disease with poor prognosis despite currently available standard of care therapies.
¹ Sung et al. CA Cancer J Clin, 71:209-49, 2021; ² Johnson, D.E., Burtness, B., Leemans, C.R. et al. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nat Rev Dis Primers 6, 92 (2020)
About Petosemtamab
Petosemtamab, or MCLA-158, is a Biclonics® low-fucose human full-length IgG1 antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the leucine-rich repeat containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5). Petosemtamab is designed to exhibit three independent mechanisms of action including inhibition of EGFR-dependent signaling, LGR5 binding leading to EGFR internalization and degradation in cancer cells, and enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) activity.
About
Merus is a clinical-stage oncology company developing innovative full-length human bispecific and trispecific antibody therapeutics, referred to as Multiclonics®. Multiclonics® are manufactured using industry standard processes and have been observed in preclinical and clinical studies to have several of the same features of conventional human monoclonal antibodies, such as long half-life and low immunogenicity. For additional information, please visit Merus’ website, and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding the clinical development of our clinical candidates, including petosemtamab, future clinical trial results or interim data, clinical activity and safety profile, and development plans in the on-going trials and described in forthcoming posters or presentations; and our belief that petosemtamab has the potential to become a new standard of care. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our need for additional funding, which may not be available and which may require us to restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or antibody candidates; potential delays in regulatory approval, which would impact our ability to commercialize our product candidates and affect our ability to generate revenue; the lengthy and expensive process of clinical drug development, which has an uncertain outcome; the unpredictable nature of our early stage development efforts for marketable drugs; potential delays in enrollment of patients, which could affect the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals; our reliance on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and the potential for those third parties to not perform satisfactorily; impacts of the volatility in the global economy, including global instability, including the ongoing conflicts in
These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended
Multiclonics®, Biclonics® and Triclonics® are registered trademarks of
Investor and Media Inquiries: Sherri Spear Merus N.V. SVP Investor Relations and Strategic Communications 617-821-3246 s.spear@merus.nl Kathleen Farren Merus N.V. Assoc. Director IR/Corp Comms 617-230-4165 k.farren@merus.nl
Source: Merus N.V.