New cell therapy for glioblastoma doubles progression-free survival
Trial now testing DeltEx DRI vs. standard care in newly diagnosed patients
Written by |
Treatment with DeltEx DRI, a cell therapy developed by In8bio, is prolonging survival outcomes among people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma in a clinical trial, according to new interim data shared by the company.
Glioblastoma, a type of glioma, “is an extremely aggressive and devastating brain cancer, with a short median survival of only [about] 12 months and no meaningful innovation [in treatment] in over twenty years,” William Ho, CEO and cofounder of In8bio, said in a company press release announcing the early data.
“The contrast between our repeat-dose DeltEx DRI patients and the [patients given standard-of-care] treated at the same centers demonstrates a profound improvement” for those given the cell therapy, Ho said.
Indeed, the data show that median progression-free survival — the amount of time patients remain alive without disease progression — doubled for treated participants in the small trial.
DeltEx DRI is a cell therapy that utilizes gamma-delta T-cells, a type of immune cell with cancer-killing capabilities, which have been engineered to be resistant to typical cancer therapies. In8bio is developing multiple versions of the cell therapy, including INB-200 and INB-400, for glioblastoma, typically a highly aggressive and fast-growing brain tumor.
In8bio is now conducting a Phase 1/2 study (NCT05664243) to test the cell therapy in individuals with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The new interim data cover 14 patients who received multiple injections of DeltEx DRI, as well as 10 patients who received standard-of-care treatments at the same clinical centers.
Several patients given DeltEx DRI are still alive 2 years after diagnosis
In patients given standard care, outcomes have been in line with current norms for glioblastoma: Median progression-free survival was 6.6 months, and the median overall survival time was slightly longer than one year (13.2 months).
Outcomes among individuals given DeltEx DRI were markedly different, however: Median progression-free survival time was more than a year (13 months), nearly double that seen with standard care.
Importantly, according to the developer, because many patients are still alive, the final median survival time has not been calculated — it’s currently at more than 17 months, or nearly 1.5 years, and increasing.
The company noted that more than half of patients given the cell therapy had a progression-free survival time that was longer than their predicted overall survival time based on prognostic markers at diagnosis. Further, several patients given DeltEx DRI are still alive and free from disease progression more than two years after diagnosis, In8bio reported.
The increase in mPFS [median progression-free survival], particularly in the newly diagnosed [glioblastoma] setting, is meaningful time for these patients.
Safety data show the cell therapy has generally been well-tolerated, with no serious side effects reported. There also have been no documented cases of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity (ICANS), both of which are potentially severe inflammatory reactions that can occur with other cancer cell therapies.
“The increase in mPFS [median progression-free survival], particularly in the newly diagnosed [glioblastoma] setting, is meaningful time for these patients,” Ho said. “The durability of these mPFS results, combined with a well-tolerated safety profile, underscore the potential of our [gamma-delta] T cell therapy to meaningfully improve newly diagnosed [glioblastoma] treatment and patient outcomes.”
