NKMAX Announces ASCO Presentation on Combination of SuperNK and Keytruda in Stage 4 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] NKMAX disclosed an update and detailed information on the Korean Phase 1/2a clinical trial of the immuno-oncology drug ‘SuperNK’ through a poster oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) online conference on the 29th.

The clinical trial targeted 18 patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer who had failed first-line platinum-based standard treatment. It aimed to evaluate the dose-dependent safety and preliminary potential efficacy of the combination therapy of SuperNK (SNK01) and Keytruda (generic name: pembrolizumab). The control group received Keytruda monotherapy.

This presentation included a total of 20 patients, adding 2 more to the initial 18 recruited for the Phase 1/2 trial. Among them, data from 8 patients in the control group and 9 out of 12 patients in the treatment group were prioritized for analysis and used in the presentation.

According to the research team led by Professor Changmin Choi of Seoul Asan Medical Center, who conducted the clinical study, no adverse events occurred from the administration of the SuperNK immuno-oncology drug, demonstrating excellent safety results, which is the primary endpoint of the trial. In the control group receiving Keytruda alone, serious adverse events of Grade 3 or higher such as arthralgia, myalgia, and chest pain were observed, whereas the combination therapy group showed a reduction in Keytruda-related side effects. This suggests a tendency that SuperNK co-administration may reduce the side effects caused by Keytruda.

Furthermore, the SuperNK combination therapy group showed higher therapeutic efficacy compared to the Keytruda monotherapy group. The progression-free survival (PFS) in the combination group was 8 months, with a p-value of approximately 0.008. Additionally, the survival rate has not yet been determined due to an insufficient number of deaths to analyze.

The company explained that this PFS was five times longer compared to the Keytruda monotherapy group within this trial, and also extended compared to other Keynote trials conducted on non-small cell lung cancer patients with PD-L1 expression of 1% or higher, where Keytruda monotherapy showed a PFS of about 4 months. Considering that the trial involved patients with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer who were unresponsive to conventional chemotherapy, this is regarded as a meaningful therapeutic effect.

Yongman Kim, Director of Research at NKMAX, stated, “The notably important indicator in this trial, progression-free survival, refers to the period during which the patient survives without disease progression, serving as a crucial criterion for improving patients’ quality of life. Stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer patients account for about 63% of all lung cancer cases, and although various treatments are available, they all show severe side effects or resistance, so there is ongoing market interest in safe therapies.” He added, “I believe ASCO’s attention to the interim results of this trial, which showed not only no side effects but also high therapeutic efficacy with SuperNK immuno-oncology drug administration, reflects this significance.”

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