Thursday, May 25, 2023
Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL™ RNAi platform technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells, today announced its clinical development partner, AgonOx, Inc, in collaboration with Providence Cancer Institute, has completed the site initiation visit and can commence with patient accrual.
The clinical trial will assess the safety and the potential for enhanced therapeutic benefit from the administration of Phio's PH-762 treated 'double positive' (DP) CD8 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in patients with melanoma and other advanced solid tumors. The trial will be conducted at Providence Cancer Institute in Portland, Oregon, by Principal Investigator Brendan Curti, MD, Medical Oncologist and Robert W. Franz Endowed Chair for Clinical Research at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, a division of Providence.
"With both regulatory clearance and the completion of the site initiation visit this study can now proceed and we are excited to test PH-762 combined with this new TIL therapy," said Andrew Weinberg, PhD, President and CSO at AgonOx and Member at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Cancer Institute.
"With the initiation of this clinical trial, Phio continues to advance the development of improved cell therapies for oncologic indications. We are pleased with our ongoing collaboration with AgonOx and the Providence Cancer Institute and look forward to continued progress," said Robert Bitterman, Phio's President and CEO.
Phio recently received FDA clearance to initiate a clinical trial of intratumoral PH-762 in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma. The trial is expected to commence in the second half of 2023.
