Decision Taken to Escalate to the Next Dose Level in a Clinical Trial With HuMax-IL8 in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors Ongoing at the NCI

STOCKHOLM, October 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Cormorant Pharmaceuticals in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, MD has started enrollment of patients into a phase Ib clinical trial of HuMax-IL8. HuMax-IL8 is a monoclonal antibody therapy targeting interleukin-8 (IL-8). IL-8 has been shown to be upregulated in many different solid tumors and is involved in the tumor immunosuppression. Inhibiting IL-8 can potentially inhibit the tumor's ability to suppress the patient's own immune system from attacking the tumor. IL-8 has also been shown to be involved in aggressive aspects of tumor development, such as metastasis and cancer stem cell renewal.

The objectives of the trial are to establish safety and the optimal dose of HuMax-IL8 in cancer patients. Moreover, the potential effects of HuMax-IL8 on tumor immunosuppression, metastasis and cancer stem cell renewal will be documented through extensive biomarker measurements.

As of today, the patients in the first dose cohort have been enrolled and treated for at least 4 weeks at the NCI, and the decision was made to start enrollment in the second dose cohort. Patients with metastatic or locally advanced solid tumors are eligible.

Also today, Maarten de Château, MD PhD, the CEO of Cormorant will present the project in front of investors at the BIO Investor Forum in San Francisco.

Dr de Château said: "Plans are to advance the project into multiple combination trials pending completion of the dose escalation part of the ongoing phase I trial. HuMax-IL8 will then potentially be combined with a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor, cancer vaccine and with chemotherapy in breast, lung and other cancers."

Cormorant Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company, based at the Karolinska Institute Science Park in Stockholm, Sweden. Based on amounting research pointing to IL-8 being an important driver of malignant tumors, HuMax-IL8 was taken into development by Cormorant. HuMax-IL8, is a fully human monoclonal antibody formerly developed at Genmab. A clinical trial in palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) patients was successfully conducted by Genmab and the drug has potential application in autoimmune diseases, besides oncology.

For more information on Cormorant and HuMax-IL8 visit our website: http://www.cormorantpharma.com.

Trial information can be found at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02536469.

Media contact: media(a)cormorantpharma.com

SOURCE Cormorant Pharmaceuticals