Immunophotonics Announces 1st Patient Dosed in Multinational Clinical Trial in the United Kingdom

Saint Louis, MO | Bern, Switzerland (2 June 2023) — Immunophotonics Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel immune-activating drugs, has announced the recruitment and the dosing of its first patient in the United Kingdom at the University College London. This multi-national clinical trial, which is sponsored by Immunophotonics and is denominated alternatively as IP-IIO-622 or INJECTABL-1, will assess the safety and efficacy of its lead asset in multiple solid tumor indications. Immunophotonics is currently enrolling patients for treatment of colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Germany.

There is still a significant unmet need for late-stage solid-tumor cancer patients. The principal objective of this study is to evaluate the immunologically mediated anticancer effects of Immunophotonics’ lead drug candidate, IP-001, following the use of thermal ablation in patients with advanced solid tumors. Thermal ablation is an approved and well-established procedure that is readily available at most hospitals and clinics. While ablation is routinely used to reduce a patient’s tumor burden and eliminate targeted tumors, the effects of this routine intervention are local, with limited immunological benefits. This new strategy could provide such benefits to patients by transforming a tumor ablation into a systemic immunotherapy – igniting the body’s immune system to attack cancer at the site of ablation and beyond.

Immunophotonics CEO Lu Alleruzzo and his team are focused on developing a novel class of immune-activating drugs that can be used in combination with other treatments to enhance the body’s natural immune response. The expansion of this clinical trial to the United Kingdom marks an important milestone in getting IP-001 to cancer patients in need across the globe.

Dr. Steve Bandula, Ph.D., M.D., an Interventional Radiologist and Associate Professor in Cancer Intervention who serves as the site Principal Investigator at University College London Hospitals and was on hand for the treatment of the first patient, stated: “We are excited to have dosed our first patient with IP-001 at the University College London and are looking forward to working with Immunophotonics throughout this clinical trial. This trial represents an opportunity to help fulfill a critical unmet need for new innovative treatment options for patients living with certain types of cancer.”

Dr. Mark Middleton, M.D., who is an Intratumoral Immunotherapy Expert at Oxford University Hospitals and the trial’s national Coordinating Investigator in the United Kingdom, remarked: “We need new immunotherapy drugs to treat cancer, and we’re excited to be involved in the development of this innovative treatment for cancer patients. My team and I look forward understanding how best to use this new approach and to generating the evidence of IP-001’s effect against the whole cancer when it is injected into just one tumour after a routine ablation.”

More information about IP-IIO-622 / INJECTABL-1 clinical trials and enrollment can be found at: Clinicaltrials.gov

About IP-001

IP-001 is a proprietary glycan polymer that acts both as an antigen depot and a potent immune stimulant capable of inducing immunological responses against cancer. It is designed to (1) prolong the availability of the target antigens (whether it is sourced through formulation or tumoricidal therapies), (2) facilitate the recruitment and activation of innate immune cells such as antigen-presenting cells (APCs), (3) increase the uptake of the tumor antigens into the APCs, and (4) lead to a potent downstream adaptive immune response against the antigenic targets. This ignited systemic, adaptive immune response then seeks out and eliminates its target throughout the body.

About Immunophotonics

Immunophotonics, Inc. is a privately owned clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the field of Interventional Immuno-Oncology™. IP-001, the first asset from the company’s intellectual property platform, has the potential to overcome the local defenses of the tumor microenvironment to enable a tumor-specific anticancer immune response in multiple solid tumor indications. The company is in early Phase 2 development and is based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those made or implied herein. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Immunophotonics, Inc. undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.