Patients with advanced-stage cancer have shown positive responses to SUPLEXA, a personalized treatment that enhances the patient’s own immune cells to combat cancer. The first-in-human trial results will be presented at the 2024 SITC conference in November.
Dr. Frank Borriello, Founder and CEO of Alloplex Biotherapeutics, stated, “Cancer often gains the upper hand by suppressing the immune system. Our approach flips the script: we isolate immune cells from this suppressive environment, we reactivate their inherent cancer-fighting abilities in a laboratory, and return them back to the patient.”
SUPLEXA: A Personalized Approach
The SUPLEXA therapy begins with a single 50 mL blood draw from the patient. The patient’s white blood cells are isolated and trained ex vivo using Alloplex’s proprietary ENLIST immune cell training technology. After about a month, the enhanced blood cells are infused back into the patient, where they target and destroy cancer cells and improve the patient's overall immune health.
Clinical Trial Results
The Australian study (NCT05237206) reported no treatment-related serious adverse events. Significant clinical benefits were observed in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
- Colorectal Cancer (CRC): One patient achieved a complete response (CR), another a partial response (PR), and a third stable disease (SD).
- Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC): One patient achieved a partial response (PR), and six achieved stable disease (SD), while only three experienced progressive disease (PD).
Patients with other solid tumors, including melanoma, breast, and lung cancer, also demonstrated long-term stable disease (SD) with SUPLEXA.
Investigator Insights
Principal Investigator, Assoc. Professor Rohit Joshi, who led the study across three sites in Australia, noted, “SUPLEXA has been a remarkable experience for the participating patients who had exhausted all standard treatment options. It’s also allowed them to continue with their normal lives, have a vacation, take up new hobbies and spend more time with family and friends.”
Future Directions
With encouragement from the FDA, Alloplex Biotherapeutics plans to initiate Phase 2 clinical trials of SUPLEXA in early 2025. The trial will combine SUPLEXA with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with a specific type of colorectal cancer to assess whether SUPLEXA can enhance the effectiveness of ICIs.
