Sillajen’s Pexa-Vec study picked as poster at ESMO 2023

Sillajen said Monday its clinical study on the combination of Pexa-Vec and Libtayo has been accepted as a poster at the European Society for Medical Oncology Annual Meeting 2023 (ESMO 2023) in Madrid in October.

In 2017, Sillajen entered into a collaboration agreement with Regeneron for the clinical development to treat kidney cancer. The company has been conducting clinical trials of the combination of its oncolytic virus Pexa-Vec and cancer immunotherapy Libtayo (cemiplimab).

Sillajen has completed the phase 2 clinical trial and expects the clinical result report (CSR) in the second half of this year. The trial drew attention from the industry because its design included intravenous (IV) administration of the oncolytic virus and patients who relapsed after treatment with immune-checkpoint inhibitors.

Also, Sillajen’s phase 1 study of BAL0891, a mitotic checkpoint inhibitor (MCI) acquired from Basilea in Switzerland last year, was adopted in the "Trial in Progress" category. BAL0891 is the first MCI to inhibit both TTK and PLK1 simultaneously. The company is conducting phase 1 trials for metastatic solid tumors in the U.S. and Korea.

"Having two studies from different pipelines accepted by two of the world's most prestigious conferences signifies the strength of our pipeline," a company official said. "We will focus on enhancing corporate value through the successful development of our diverse pipeline."

The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) is one of the world's most prestigious cancer congresses, alongside the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held in the first half of each year, taking place in major European countries in turn in the second-half year. This year's event will be held in Madrid from Oct. 20-24.