Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 04:33PM EST

Rubius Therapeutics Highlights Will Present Trial Results From Ongoing Phase 1/2 Trial Of RTX-240 In Advanced Solid Tumors At American Association Of Cancer Research Meeting Apr. 10-15

Rubius Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUBY), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is genetically engineering red blood cells to create an entirely new class of cellular medicines called Red Cell Therapeutics(tm), today announced that the Company will present clinical results from its ongoing Phase 1/2 study of RTX-240 in advanced solid tumors during Week One of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting being held from April 10-15, 2021. Posters will be available online on the first day of the conference on April 10 and will remain available for viewing through June 21, 2021.

"Immune agonists hold potential promise in the treatment of cancer, however, the clinical development of these agents has been limited by both severe toxicity and limited single-agent activity, leading to a narrow therapeutic window," said Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Rubius Therapeutics. "With the development of RTX-240 in advanced solid tumors, we aim to activate two important agonist pathways with their natural ligands for enhanced potency, while potentially reducing toxicity given the biodistribution of RTX-240 to the vasculature and spleen. Ultimately, our goal with RTX-240 is to activate and expand both NK and T cells with a favorable safety profile, thus potentially widening the therapeutic window of immune agonists to allow safe and effective treatment of patients with both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies."

Abstract Title: A Phase 1 Trial of RTX-240, an Allogeneic Engineered Red Blood Cell with Cell-Surface Expression of 4-1BBL and Trans-Presented IL-15, in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors

Session Category: Clinical Trials (Poster Session)

Session Title: Phase I Clinical Trials

Abstract Number: CT141

In January of 2021, the Company shared key takeaways from the first five cohorts (n=14) of the RTX-240 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. Key takeaways from the initial data included (as of January 2021):

* No treatment-related Grade 3 or Grade 4 adverse events and no dose limiting toxicities observed (n=14)

* All patients showed activation of NK or T cells or both cell types (n=14)

* In the majority of patients (n=8), all of the following were observed across dose levels: Activation of NK cells, activation of T cells, expansion of NK cells and expansion of T cells