Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) has announced that the first patient has been dosed in its global first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ZW171 for the treatment of ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and other mesothelin (MSLN)-expressing cancers.
The company reports that in preclinical studies, ZW171 demonstrated potent in vivo preferential killing of MSLN-overexpressing target cells and stimulation MSLN-dependent T cell activation, while mitigating the risk of on-target-off tumor toxicity, peripheral T cell activation, and cytokine release syndrome.
“We are very pleased to have initiated the clinical evaluation of ZW171 for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer and NSCLC, where it has the potential to be a highly effective therapy with favorable tolerability based on our preclinical research results,” said Jeff Smith, M.D., FRCP, EVP and CMO at Zymeworks.
“Initiation of this trial marks a significant step forward in our effort to bring a potential new treatment to people living with difficult to treat cancers and highlights our goal to advance two therapeutic candidates, ZW171 and ZW191, into clinical studies in 2024,” he added.
