Phio Pharmaceuticals gets positive DMC recommendation for trial of PH-762

Phio Pharmaceuticals announced that an independent Data Monitoring Committee completed its prespecified review of interim safety data in the company’s Phase 1b clinical trial of PH-762 for the treatment of advanced melanoma. The trial is ongoing at the Gustave Roussy Institute, one of the largest cancer centers in Europe. PH-762 is an INTASYL compound that reduces the expression of cell death Protein 1, a protein that inhibits T cells’ ability to kill cancer cells. Decreasing the expression of PD-1 increases the capacity of T cells to kill cancer cells. Following completion of the treatment period through excision of the tumor, safety data from the initial cohort of three subjects in the Phase 1 trial was evaluated by the DMC. The safety data review disclosed no dose-limiting toxicity, and no drug-related severe adverse events or serious adverse events, and the DMC recommended proceeding to the enrollment of the subsequent dose cohort, as intended per the study protocol. In addition to the Phase 1b study in France, Phio expects to commence a US Phase 1b clinical trial focusing on the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and other selected cutaneous malignancies, early in the 2nd half of 2023.