Full Press Release Details
Bio Announces First Patient Dosed in a Phase 1/2 Study of INKmune in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Boca Raton, Florida, Jan. 02, 2024 (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) -- INmune Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: INMB) (the "Company"), a clinical-stage immunology company focused
on developing treatments that harness the patient's innate immune system to fight disease, dosed the first patient in the
Phase I/II trial in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) on December 27, 2023. INKmune is a biologic
therapy given as out-patient therapy without the need for pre-medication or cytokine support.
"Results of immunotherapy trials for
mCRPC have been disappointing," said Professor Matt Rettig, Professor of Medicine and Urology, Medical Director of the Prostate
Cancer Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "After many
failures using T-cell focused immunotherapy approaches, targeting NK cells -- which are abundant in the prostate cancer tumor microenvironment
-- is a promising and novel strategy. I am optimistic about the therapeutic potential of INKmune, an off-the-shelf innate immune therapy."
Professor Rettig was deeply involved in the design of the clinical trial. Dr. Rettig's statements should not be construed
as endorsement by the University of California.
CaRe PC is an open label Phase I/II trial
that will test up to three doses of INKmune in men with mCRPC. INKmune is given as out-patient therapy via intravenous infusion
three times in the first two weeks of treatment (days 1, 8 and 15). The patient is followed for six months with careful study of immunologic
and anti-cancer responses to INKmune treatment. Immune responses include changes in numbers of tumor killing memory-like NK cells
in the patient's blood and how long these specialized NK cells remain in the circulation. Anti-tumor responses will be monitored
by following the level of prostatic surface antigen (PSA) in the blood, as well as using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to quantify the
number and size of metastatic lesions using piflufolastat F 18 - a PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) imaging agent developed by Lantheus,
and by measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood. As many as 30 patients will receive one of three levels of dose of INKmune
(low, medium, high).
"There are two key elements for successful
immunotherapy. There must be immune cells in the tumor and the drug must convert those immune cells into cancer killing cells,"
said Prof. Mark Lowdell Ph.D., CSO of INmune Bio and inventor of INKmune . "Prostate cancer has many resting NK cells, and
we believe INKmune will convert those resting NK cells into memory-like NK cells that can attack the tumor."
The study uses a novel modified Bayesian design.
The sequential Phase I dose escalation portion will be followed by a Phase II trial that will simultaneously enroll patients in all dosing
cohorts. Once the Phase I portion is complete, the doses that are safe will be tested simultaneously in the Phase II portion of the trial.
Up to 10 patients will be enrolled at each dose level. There are two primary goals of the trial. The first is to demonstrate the safety
of INKmune in the patient population (men with mCRPC). The second is to determine which dose of INKmune should be used in
a blinded, randomized registration trial. Determining the best dose of INKmune to use in future clinical trials will depend on
a combination of immunologic and anti-tumor responses seen in the men treated with INKmune therapy.
INKmune is an NK cell targeted therapy that
is not an NK cell. INKmune designed to improve the function of the patient's own NK cells. INKmune is a patented,
pharmaceutical-grade, replication-incompetent human tumor cell line which conjugates to resting NK cells and delivers multiple, essential
priming signals, akin to treatment with at least three cytokines in combination. INKmune is stable at -80oC and
is delivered by a simple IV infusion. The INKmune:NK interaction ligates multiple activating and co-stimulatory molecules on the NK cell
and enhances its avidity of binding to tumor cells; notably those resistant to normal NK-mediated lysis. Tumor-primed NK (TpNK) cells
can lyse a wide variety of NK-resistant tumors including leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma and solid tumors including prostate, renal cell,
ovarian, nasopharyngeal, lung and breast cancer. INKmune therapy does not require any type of conditioning, pre-medication or cytokine
About INmune Bio, Inc.
INmune Bio Inc. is a publicly traded (NASDAQ:
INMB), clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments that target the innate immune system to fight disease. INmune
Bio has two product platforms that are both in clinical trials: The Dominant-Negative Tumor Necrosis Factor (DN-TNF) product platform
utilizes dominant-negative technology to selectively neutralize soluble TNF, a key driver of innate immune dysfunction and a mechanistic
driver of many diseases. DN-TNF product candidates are in clinical trials to determine if they can treat cancer (INB03 ), Early
Alzheimer's disease, and treatment-resistant depression (XPro ). The Natural Killer Cell Priming Platform includes INKmune
developed to prime a patient's NK cells to eliminate minimal residual disease in patients with cancer. INmune Bio's product
platforms utilize a precision medicine approach for the treatment of a wide variety of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies, and chronic
inflammation. To learn more, please visit www.inmunebio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Clinical trials are in early stages and there
is no assurance that any specific outcome will be achieved. Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical
facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on
current expectations but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances
may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. INB03 ,
XPro1595 (XPro ), and INKmune are still in clinical trials or preparing to start clinical trials and have not been approved
by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any regulatory body and there cannot be any assurance that they will be approved by the
FDA or any regulatory body or that any specific results will be achieved. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ
materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability
to produce more drug for clinical trials; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations
and to conduct research and development, clinical studies and future product commercialization; and, the Company's business, research,
product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies. These and other factors are identified and
described in more detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K, the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the Company's Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company
assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the
date of this release.
David Moss, CFO (858) 964-3720
(516) 842-9614 x-823