One of NetScientific’s portfolio companies, PDS Biotechnology (17.4% stake, 14.5% fully diluted), announced on 10 July 2017 that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Merck (NYSE:MRK) to investigate the combination of the cancer vaccine PDS0101 with the PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda. PDS will be initiating a Phase IIb clinical study of the combination for the treatment of human papilloma virus-16 mediated forms of recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer.
A smart combo for next-gen immunotherapy
The premise of PD-1 inhibition is that it enables the body to leverage a natural T-cell mediated immune response against cancer cells. However, only 16% of patients with head and neck cancer respond to Keytruda, potentially because they lack natural targeting of T-cells to their cancer. PDS0101’s ability to specifically sensitise T-cells to cancer antigens without significant toxicity therefore has the potential to unlock significant synergies with PD-1 inhibitors, such as Keytruda.
To read the entire report please click on the pdf file below: