First patient dosed in Cullinan Oncology’s phase 1 trial for CLN-617
Betsy Goodfellow | December 15, 2023 | News story | Research and Development | Cullinan Oncology, Oncology, clinical trial, tumours
Cullinan Oncology has announced that the first patient has been dosed with CLN-617 in its phase 1 clinical trial, designed to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and preliminary efficacy of the compound alone and in combination with pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumours.
CLN-617 is a potential first-in-class cytokine therapy consisting of two antitumour cytokines, IL-2 and IL-12, in a single molecule. This molecule is intended for intratumoural injection and triggers a broad immune response hoped to eradicate the injected tumour as well as attacking distant tumour sites, which has been observed in pre-clinical studies.
Jeffrey Jones MD MPH MBA, chief medical officer of Cullinan Oncology, commented: “While checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionised immuno-oncology, only a minority of patients respond, often due to the tumours lacking appreciable numbers of cancer-specific T-cells, referred to as ‘cold’ tumours. IL-2 and IL-12 are cytokines that work together to stimulate an immune response to cancer cells, potentially resulting in increased T-cell infiltration, activation and proliferation and thereby turning the tumour ‘hot.’ CLN-617 is a first-in-class cytokine therapy uniquely combining human IL-2, IL-12, a collagen binding domain and a size-enhancing domain in a single molecule designed for intratumoural injection. These unique characteristics are intended to promote retention of the cytokines in the injected tumour and potentially provide enhanced safety and efficacy. In pre-clinical models, intratumoural administration of CLN-617 stimulated a broad systemic immune response, resulting in the regression of non-injected distal tumours and the generation of a memory T-cell response that enhanced long-term survival. We look forward to working with investigators to explore the potential of CLN-617, Cullinan Oncology’s sixth programme in clinical development.”
Betsy Goodfellow
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