NKMAX, 'Super NK' Tumor Reduction Response 66%... ASCO Abstract Released

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] NKMAX announced that the teaser of the interim clinical results for the SuperNK immuno-oncology drug in Korea and the United States was released at 6 a.m. on the 14th through the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) abstract.

The released NKMAX abstracts include three studies: ▲interim results of the Korean clinical Phase 1/2a trial targeting non-small cell lung cancer, ▲interim results of the U.S. clinical Phase 1 trial targeting solid tumors, and ▲a study measuring NK cell activity as a biomarker for Keytruda. In particular, the interim results of the Korean clinical Phase 1/2a trial, presented for 9 patients who completed treatment out of 18 recruited stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer patients with PD-L1 expression of 1% or higher, are expected to confirm the excellent results of NKMAX’s SuperNK (SNK01) immuno-oncology drug combined with Keytruda (Pembrolizumab).

According to the released Korean clinical interim results abstract, the 9 analyzed patients were divided into a control group of 3 patients receiving Keytruda alone and a treatment group of 6 patients receiving a combination of Keytruda and the SuperNK immuno-oncology drug. The objective response rate (ORR), which measures drug efficacy, was 66%, showing excellent results with tumor reduction effects observed in 4 out of the 6 patients in the treatment group.

Among the 4 patients who showed treatment effects, 3 achieved clinically partial response (cPR), with cancer cells reduced by more than 50%, and 1 patient achieved partial response (PR), with cancer cells reduced by more than 30%. Furthermore, the abstract states that combining the SuperNK immuno-oncology drug with Keytruda not only results in high anticancer efficacy but also improves the side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Detailed results of this study will be presented orally online from May 29 to June 2.

Yongman Kim, Director of Research at NKMAX, said, “We have preliminarily confirmed that the immune cell activation function of immune checkpoint inhibitors and immune cell therapy will show a synergistic effect during treatment.” He added, “If the excellent therapeutic effects like those presented are proven in the final clinical trial of the SuperNK (SNK01) combination therapy, it will become a definite treatment option for patients in the future, and we can expect combined sales growth of SuperNK alongside Keytruda.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. clinical Phase 1 interim results abstract confirms the safety of administering the SuperNK immuno-oncology drug alone to patients with refractory solid tumors, showing no adverse effects and partial therapeutic effects. Additionally, through the release of the abstract related to NK cell activity, the possibility was confirmed that measuring NK cell activity could become a key criterion for deciding the use of expensive immune checkpoint inhibitors in advance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.