ImmunityBio Announces Positive Results Demonstrating ANKTIVA® as a Lymphocyte Stimulating Agent in Combination With Checkpoint Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- ANKTIVA® plus checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy demonstrated statistically significant immune restoration across two clinical trials in 151 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
- In first-line NSCLC (QUILT-2.023), a randomized study demonstrated a statistically significant and sustained increase in absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) from baseline with ANKTIVA plus CPI compared with CPI alone (p=0.0065), establishing ANKTIVA’s contribution as a lymphocyte-stimulating agent
- In second- and later-line NSCLC (QUILT-3.055), a single-arm study demonstrated restoration or maintenance of ALC ≥1.0 × 10³ cells/µL in 77% of patients receiving ANKTIVA plus CPI (responders)
- Responders receiving ANKTIVA plus CPI experienced significantly longer overall survival compared with non-responders (median OS 16.2 vs 11.8 months; HR 0.52; p=0.0369), directly linking immune restoration to clinical benefit
- Patients achieving higher immune competence (ALC ≥1.2 ×10³ cells/µL) demonstrated additional survival benefit, with median OS of 21.1 months (HR 0.33; p=0.0009), independent of PD-L1 status, exceeding historical overall survival of 7-9 months with standard of care chemotherapy
- A randomized Phase 3 confirmatory trial (ResQ201A) comparing ANKTIVA plus CPI versus docetaxel in second-line NSCLC is ongoing
Checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) and nivolumab (Opdivo®) have transformed the treatment landscape for lung cancer; however, clinical benefit is often transient, and effective treatment options remain limited once patients progress following standard-of-care chemo-radiation and checkpoint inhibition.
QUILT-2.023 and QUILT-3.055 were designed to test the hypothesis that disease recurrence after checkpoint therapy reflects immune exhaustion and lymphocyte depletion, and that restoration of immune competence through activation of natural killer cells and CD8* cytotoxic T cells with ANKTIVA, in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, could improve outcomes.
“Today, the default standard of care for these patients remains cytotoxic chemotherapy such as docetaxel, which is associated with substantial toxicity and limited survival benefit,” said
Detailed results from QUILT-2.023 and QUILT-3.055 are being prepared for peer-review publication and future scientific presentations and serve as foundational safety and efficacy data demonstrating meaningful clinical benefit in patients with NSCLC who have failed all standards of care including checkpoint inhibitors.
The combination of ANKTIVA plus checkpoint inhibitor therapy is protected by multiple issued patents, including
About QUILT-2.023
QUILT-2.023 (NCT03520686) is a Phase 3, open-label, multicohort study evaluating ANKTIVA® in combination with approved checkpoint inhibitor–based regimens as first-line treatment for patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC. The study included three randomized cohorts and one exploratory cohort, each analyzed independently.
The primary randomized cohort enrolled patients with stage III or IV squamous or nonsquamous NSCLC with PD-L1 expression ≥1% and no prior systemic therapy for advanced disease. Patients were randomized 1:1 to CPI alone or CPI plus ANKTIVA®. Stratification factors included CPI regimen, ECOG performance status, histology, and PD-L1 tumor proportion score. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival assessed by RECIST v1.1, with longitudinal absolute lymphocyte count prospectively incorporated as a key biological endpoint.
Enrollment was closed early following changes in the first-line NSCLC treatment landscape. All analyses were conducted according to the finalized protocol and statistical analysis plan.
About QUILT-3.055
QUILT-3.055 (NCT03228667) is a Phase 2b, multicohort, open-label study evaluating the addition of nogapendekin alfa inbakicept to continued PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy in patients with advanced solid tumors who progressed after prior checkpoint inhibition. The study enrolled heavily pretreated patients, including second- and later-line NSCLC.
Patients continued the same checkpoint inhibitor to which they had previously responded or stabilized, with ANKTIVA® administered subcutaneously in repeated six-week cycles. The primary objective prospectively linked immune biology to clinical outcomes by evaluating overall survival in relation to absolute lymphocyte count response, defined as achieving or maintaining a mean on-treatment ALC ≥1,000 cells/µL. Secondary endpoints included objective response rate, progression-free survival, duration of therapy, and safety.
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Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements regarding data and results from clinical trials and potential implications therefrom, potential regulatory pathways and approval requests and submissions, the regulatory review process and timing thereof, potential benefits to patients, potential treatment outcomes for patients, information regarding clinical trials, including potential trial design and timing, potential future uses and applications of ANKTIVA, and ImmunityBio’s approved product and investigational agents as compared to existing treatment options, among others. Statements in this presentation that are not statements of historical fact are considered forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “goal,” “could,” “estimates,” “scheduled,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “indicate,” “projects,” “is,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” “strategy,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. Statements of past performance, efforts, or results of our preclinical and clinical trials, about which inferences or assumptions may be made, can also be forward-looking statements and are not indicative of future performance or results. Forward-looking statements are neither forecasts, promises nor guarantees, and are based on the current beliefs of ImmunityBio’s management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to
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