PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA — INOVIO (NASDAQ: INO) has announced a clinical collaboration and supply agreement with Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRS) to evaluate the combination of INO-3112 and LOQTORZI™ (toripalimab-tpzi) as a potential treatment for patients with high-risk, HPV16/18 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), a type of throat cancer.
Coherus will provide LOQTORZI™, an FDA-approved PD-1 inhibitor, for a forthcoming Phase 3 clinical trial led by INOVIO, contingent upon alignment with the FDA on the study design. LOQTORZI™ is currently approved for the treatment of recurrent locally advanced/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Dr. Glenn Hanna, Director of the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and principal investigator for the planned trial, emphasized the potential benefits of this combination therapy. “Existing trial data highlights the strong rationale for and potential benefit of combining INO-3112 with a PD-1 inhibitor to generate tumor-specific T cells in HPV-related head and neck cancer,” he said.
Dr. Jacqueline Shea, INOVIO’s President and CEO, expressed optimism about the collaboration and the potential benefits of combining INO-3112 with a proven PD-1 inhibitor. “There is unique potential in combining our DNA medicines platform, adept at fighting HPV-related diseases, with a proven PD-1 inhibitor to improve clinical outcomes for patients,” she stated.
Rosh Dias, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Coherus, also expressed enthusiasm for the partnership. “With its differentiated mechanism of action, toripalimab in combination with the INO-3112 vaccine may hold promise for these patients in earlier-stage disease, where treatment options are more limited. This partnership fits in well with our strategic vision to investigate toripalimab across additional tumor types,” Dias said.
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