Benzinga | May 20, 2021 07:10AM EDT

Agenus Presents New Data on Balstilimab and AGEN2373 in ASCO Abstracts

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies, adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune response to cancers and infections, today announced data on the differentiated activity profile of balstilimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, and new Phase 1 clinical data for AGEN2373, a CD137 agonist antibody, as published in abstracts for two posters to be presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2021 from June 4 -- 8, 2021.

Balstilimab has shown expanded clinical activity in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Responses have been observed in both PD-L1 positive and PD-L1 negative tumors in contrast to approved anti-PD-1 antibodies which have shown almost no responses in the PD-L1 negative population. Preclinical observations using the company's proprietary platform corroborate these results, showing differentiated activity and superior tumor killing potential for balstilimab as compared to commercially available anti-PD-1 antibodies.

Agenus submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 19 for the use of balstilimab in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. This submission was based on data from the Phase 2 trial showing a response rate of 20% in PD-L1 positive tumors and an overall response rate of 15% with a median duration of response of 15.4 months.