HOOKIPA Pharma (NASDAQ:HOOK) has announced that the first patient has been dosed in an investigator-initiated trial (IIT) of eseba-vec as adjunct therapy for patients with minimal residual disease-positive, HPV-driven head and neck cancer.
The trial is being conducted by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
“Based on the positive Phase 2 data generated to date in recurrent/metastatic (R/M) HNSCC, we believe eseba-vec has broad potential across HPV16+ cancers. We are enthusiastic to explore the potential of eseba-vec as an adjuvant treatment for patients with locally advanced HNSCC and continue our collaboration with Drs. Wong and Ho and the team at MSKCC,” said Mark Winderlich, Ph.D., chief research development officer at HOOKIPA.
“Eseba-vec was well tolerated and has demonstrated compelling efficacy in combination with pembrolizumab in HPV+ (R/M) HNSCC, said Malte Peters, CEO of HOOKIPA.
“We look forward to building on these promising findings with the expansion into adjuvant care. Our eseba-vec clinical development program in HNSCC continues to advance and we are on track to initiate our pivotal AVALON-1 Phase 2/3 study in the front-line setting for patients with HPV16+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the fourth quarter of 2024. We expect initial safety and efficacy data from the IIT in 2026,” he added.
