NKMAX Anticipates Starting Combination Therapy Clinical Trial for 'SNK01' in Second Half of This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Bukuk Securities expects that NKMAX, which is developing 'SNK01', will start a combination therapy clinical phase 1/2a trial in the United States in the second half of this year, and if meaningful results are derived, additional technology exports will also be possible.

On the 18th, Shin Hyo-seop, a researcher at Bukuk Securities, stated that NKMAX showed meaningful interim results of the Korean clinical phase 1/2A trial combining Keytruda targeting patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer using the SuperNK technology at ASCO 2020. He said, "Although the number of patients is still small as it is a phase 1/2A trial, it showed more competitiveness than previous combination therapy trials of Keytruda + Yervoy. If these results continue, we expect meaningful achievements such as technology exports."

Researcher Shin mentioned that NKMAX disclosed a total of three studies through the 2020 ASCO abstract on the 13th: the domestic clinical phase 1/2a trial of SNK01 targeting non-small cell lung cancer, the US clinical phase 1 trial targeting solid tumors interim results, and a study measuring NK cell activity as a biomarker. He especially evaluated the interim results targeting nine patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression of 1% or higher as meaningful.

He said, "A total of 14 patients were recruited into three groups: SNK01 2x10^9 + Keytruda, SNK01 4x10^9 + Keytruda, and Keytruda alone. Results were announced for nine patients (three per group) whose analysis was completed. Among them, the objective response rate (ORR) of six patients who received SNK01 combination therapy was 66%, with one partial response (PR) and three clinical partial responses (cPR)." He added, "Since clinical significance was confirmed in this ASCO abstract, positive results are expected in future ongoing clinical trials."

SNK01, developed by NKMAX, is a next-generation NK cell therapy specialized in killing cancer cells. NKMAX plans to start a clinical phase 1/2a trial in the United States in the second half of the year combining SNK01 with targeted anticancer drugs Herceptin or Erbitux. It is explained that the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) function of NK cells can enhance the response rate of targeted anticancer drugs, leading to a synergistic anticancer effect and potentially reducing side effects.

Researcher Shin forecasted, "The global markets for Herceptin and Erbitux are 8.6 trillion KRW and 11.6 trillion KRW respectively, so if meaningful results are derived, additional technology exports with partners are also expected."

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