Rakuten Medical Taiwan Inc. announced the administration of its photo-immunotherapy ASP-1929 to the first patient in a Phase II trial at sites in Taiwan. The trial is evaluating the drug in combination with a PD-1 therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, with the primary endpoint of objective response rate (ORR).
Drug Mechanism
ASP-1929, based on Rakuten Medical’s Alluminox platform, is an antibody-dye conjugate combining the EGFR-targeted antibody cetuximab with IRDye 700DX, a light-activatable dye. This allows ASP-1929 to bind to EGFRs on cancer cells and be locally activated by non-thermal red light from a laser device for targeted treatment.
Clinical Progress
The drug received conditional early approval from Japan’s MHLW in September 2020 and is currently under investigation in a global Phase III study for recurrent head and neck cancer. ASP-1929 is also being explored for other EGFR-expressing cancers, including cutaneous, esophageal, lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers.-Fineline Info & Tech
