Hummingbird Bioscience, an innovative clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies against difficult-to-treat targets, today announced a Trials in Progress poster presentation highlighting the Phase 1 clinical trial design for HMBD-002. HMBD-002 is a unique antibody against VISTA, developed using Hummingbird’s Rational Antibody Discovery platform to target VISTA-mediated suppression of anti-tumor immune responses, and will be presented at the 36th Trials in Progress meeting in Washington, D.C. and virtually November 10-14, 2021.
HMBD-002 targets the region where the V domain of the Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) interacts with binding partners that have been shown to play an important role in modulating T cell activity, which may enable the immune system to attack cancer cells. The Trials in Progress poster summarizes the design of the Phase 1 clinical trial for HMBD-002 (NCT05082610). The open-label, multicenter Phase 1 trial is designed to evaluate HMBD-002 as monotherapy and in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) to determine the maximum tolerated dose and to evaluate the anti-cancer activity of HMBD-002. The pembrolizumab combination arm of the study is being conducted in collaboration with Merck (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada).
The dose-escalation portion of the study is expected to include patients with advanced solid malignancies, while the dose-expansion portion of the study plans to evaluate HMBD-002 in disease-specific cohorts, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and other cancers in which VISTA is present at high levels and may suppress immune responses. TNBC and NSCLC have been identified as priority indications for clinical investigation due to their high VISTA expression and the unmet need for new treatment options in these tumor types.
“We are excited to present our Phase 1 clinical strategy for HMBD-002 at SITC and discuss our longer-term clinical development plans with the wider immuno-oncology community,” commented Dr. Jerome Boyd-Kirkup, Chief Scientific Officer, Hummingbird Bioscience. “HMBD-002 could represent a unique and innovative approach to benefit cancer patients who do not respond to current therapies. We look forward to continued collaboration with Merck to advance HMBD-002 through clinical trials.”
Hummingbird Bioscience currently plans to administer a dose to the first patient in Q4 2021 and expects to receive clinical data from the Phase 1 clinical trial in the second half of 2023.
