Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) announced that it has completed enrolling patients in the phase I/II study on its immuno-oncology combo of INO-5401 plus INO-9012 in combination with Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) /Sanofi’s (NASDAQ:SNY) PD-1 inhibitor, Libtayo (cemiplimab), for treating the newly-diagnosed patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The company closed the patient enrollment three months ahead of the scheduled time.
The program will evaluate 52 newly-diagnosed GBM patients, the primary endpoint being the safety and the tolerability of the combination regime. The investigation will also examine the progression-free survival and the overall survival rate. The study’s main objective is to increase the overall survival of patients with such diseases. Inovio plans to report the interim results from the probe before this year-end.
Notably, last June, Inovio dosed the first patient in this phase I/II study.
Meanwhile, the company is also evaluating INO-5401+INO-9012 in combination with Roche’s (OTC:RHHBY) PD-L1 inhibitor, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), for treating advanced/metastatic bladder cancer. Interim data from this study is expected to be announced by the end of the ongoing year.
Shares of Inovio have lost 7.7% so far this year against the industry’s increase of 12.5%.
Apart from the collaborations with Roche and Regeneron, Inovio has a clinical partnership with AstraZeneca for MEDI0457. The company is evaluating MEDI0457 (a combination of VGX-3100 and its DNA-based IL-12 cytokine) in combination with AstraZeneca’s PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor, Imfinzi, for treating the human papilloma virus (HPV)-caused cervical and head and neck cancers.
Zacks Rank
Inovio currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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