MRUS - Merus Presents Interim Data on MCLA-145 Monotherapy and in Combination with Pembrolizumab at the 2024 ASCO® Annual Meeting | Benzinga
UTRECHT, The Netherlands and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) (Merus, the Company, we, or our), a clinical-stage oncology company developing innovative, full-length multispecific antibodies (Biclonics® and Triclonics®), today announced updated interim clinical data on MCLA-145 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab were presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO®) Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago May 31-June 4, 2024.
"MCLA-145 as monotherapy or with pembrolizumab appears to have a manageable safety profile and early clinical activity in these difficult to treat cancers. Our biomarker data suggest that both dose and less frequent administration may be important determinants of clinical activity, and we are encouraged by the progress we are making with MCLA-145," said Bill Lundberg, M.D., President, Chief Executive Officer of Merus. "As our company is now increasingly focused on our lead asset petosemtamab and plan to initiate phase 3 trials in head and neck cancer later this year, we aim to advance clinical development of MCLA-145 in the context of a potential collaboration."
MCLA-145 (CD137 x PD-L1 Biclonics®): Solid Tumors
Interim data included in the presentation describe data from patients (pts) with advanced/metastatic solid tumors who received MCLA-145 Q2W in 28 day cycles or every three weeks (Q3W) in 21 day cycles. Pts treated with the combination of MCLA-145 and pembrolizumab had cancers that either relapsed after PD-(L)1 therapies or were immunotherapy (IO) naïve.
Rapid oral presentation title: Phase I study of MCLA-145, a bispecific antibody targeting CD137 and PD-L1, in solid tumors, as monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab
Observations in the presentation include:
- As of a January 3, 2024 data cutoff date, 72 pts with multiple cancer types were treated; 25% of pts had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
- All patients were heavily pre-treated with a median of 3 prior therapies; prior IO in 49% of the monotherapy pts and 100% of the combination pts
- In monotherapy, 52 pts with a variety of tumor types and treated at different dose levels were evaluable for response
- 5 partial responses (PRs) were observed at different dose levels in glioblastoma (ongoing as of the cutoff date for >3 years), sarcoma (pretreated with pazopanib and gemcitabine/docetaxel), cervical, anal, and gastric cancer by Response Evaluation Criteria ...