Benzinga | Jun 4, 2021 10:35AM EDT

Purple Biotech ASCO Presentation Fails to Cheer Investors

* Purple Biotech Ltd (NASDAQ:PPBT) has announced new data from the first dose level cohort of its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial evaluating NT219 in various solid tumors.

* Data were presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting.

* The trial is evaluating NT219 as monotherapy, in addition to a subsequent dose escalation of NT219 in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic solid tumors and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer.

* As of the cutoff date of 25 April, six patients have been enrolled in the study.

* Initial results from the first dose level cohort revealed NT219 was well-tolerated with minimal adverse events.

* In addition, a partial response was observed in a patient with refractory gastroesophageal junction cancer, previously treated with four prior lines of therapies.

* The patient was treated for 22 weeks. A complete remission was seen at the largest target lesion and one non-target lesion, while the stable disease was observed at the other non-target lesion.

* NT219 is a dual inhibitor that simultaneously targets IRS1/2 and STAT3, known as important oncogenic drivers and major drug resistance pathways in hard-to-treat cancers.

* Price Action: PPBT shares are down 21.4% at $5.26 during the market session on the last check Friday.