Benzinga | Nov 5, 2020 08:02AM EST

CytomX Therapeutics Announces Treatment of First Patient in Phase 2 Expansion Study of CX-2029, an Anti-CD71 Probody Drug Conjugate

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX), a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of investigational antibody therapeutics based on its Probody(r) technology platform, today announced the treatment of the first patient in the Phase 2 expansion study of CX-2029, an anti-CD71 Probody drug conjugate. The study, being conducted under a partnership with AbbVie, is evaluating CX-2029 as monotherapy in four cohorts; squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC), squamous head and neck cancer (sqHNSCC), esophageal cancer, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

"Our Phase 2 advancement of CX-2029 against the previously undruggable target CD71 marks a major milestone in our broadening clinical pipeline and highlights the progress we continue to make in applying our Probody platform to unique therapeutic opportunities in cancer," said Amy Peterson, MD, chief development officer of CytomX Therapeutics. "These expansion cohorts build on our Phase 1 clinical experience with CX-2029 in which we achieved meaningful therapeutic activity for this first-in-class drug candidate, setting the stage for Phase 2 exploration of its potential."

This open-label, multi-center Phase 2 cohort expansion study (NCT003543813) will enroll approximately 25 evaluable patients in each of the cohorts and assess the efficacy and tolerability of 3 mg/kg of CX-2029 administered every three weeks. The primary objective is overall response rate (ORR) with secondary objectives evaluating safety and tolerability. CytomX anticipates initial data from this study in late 2021.