NetScientific's portfolio company, PDS Biotech, has reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2023. PDS Biotech is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on developing targeted cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines. The company announced positive results from its Phase 2 triple combination trial for advanced HPV16-positive cancer patients, with 75% of ICI-naïve patients alive at 36 months. The trial also showed a 12-month overall survival rate of 72% in ICI-resistant patients. PDS Biotech's lead drug candidate, PDS0101, showed promising results in the Phase 2 VERSATILE-002 trial for HPV16-positive recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer patients, with a 2-year overall survival rate of 74%. The company also presented interim safety and immune response data for its Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating docetaxel and PDS01ADC in metastatic prostate cancer patients, showing a decline in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in all patients.
PDS Biotech CEO, Frank Bedu-Addo, expressed his satisfaction with the trial results and highlighted the potential of PDS01ADC to overcome limitations associated with existing cytokine therapy. He also mentioned the progress of PDS0101 and the company's commitment to developing groundbreaking therapies that revolutionize cancer treatments.
In terms of recent business highlights, PDS Biotech received feedback from the FDA regarding the Phase 3 clinical protocol for a randomized, controlled multicenter trial of PDS0101 in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA, in patients with HPV16-positive recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer. The company expects to initiate this trial in Q1 2024. PDS Biotech also presented biomarker data at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2023, demonstrating the potential of the combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA to promote a strong CD8 T cell response. Additionally, the company provided data from its Phase 2 clinical trial investigating PDS0101 in combination with standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer patients, showing a rapid decline in HPV circulating cell-free DNA.
Overall, PDS Biotech's recent results and business updates highlight the positive progress of its pipeline and the potential of its immunotherapies in treating various types of cancer.