A phase 1/2 study of RTX-224, an engineered red blood cell expressing 4-1BB ligand and membrane-bound IL-12, for the treatment of patients with select advanced solid tumors.

Abstract

TPS2680 Background: RTX-224 is a genetically engineered off-the-shelf, allogeneic red blood cell that expresses the costimulatory molecule 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL) and cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12) on the cell surface. The use of 4-1BB and IL-12 agonists for cancer immunotherapy has been limited due to systemic toxicities. Unlike agonist antibodies and recombinant cytokines, which are distributed systemically, Red Cell Therapeutics, such as RTX-224, are restricted to the vasculature and spleen, which may limit toxicities previously observed with agonist 4-1BB monoclonal antibodies and recombinant IL-12. RTX-224 is designed to be a broad immune agonist of both adaptive and innate responses that activates and expands effector and memory CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells and produces inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, leading to enhanced antigen presentation. In preclinical studies, the combined activation of both adaptive and innate immune responses by the murine surrogate of RTX-224 led to antitumor activity while the restricted biodistribution improved the safety profile. Methods: The RTX-224-01 study is a Phase 1/2, first-in-human, multi-center, dose-escalation and expansion study of RTX-224 in patients with relapsed or refractory urothelial cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer and cutaneous melanoma. Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and anti-tumor activity of RTX-224 will be assessed. Approximately 28 patients will be enrolled across dose level cohorts to identify the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). The starting dose is 100 million (1x108) cells administered intravenously every 3 weeks (Q3W) and the dose will be escalated by half-log increments following a Bayesian logarithmic regression model (BLRM) with overdose control. Following RP2D selection, each of the 5 expansion cohorts will enroll approximately 20 patients. Pharmacodynamic and exploratory biomarker studies correlative to clinical response will be evaluated on peripheral blood and paired tumor biopsies. Multiple technologies will be employed to profile the innate and adaptive responses following RTX-224 treatment. The study is open and enrolling patients in Phase 1. Clinical trial information: NCT05219578.