Published on 19 May 2023 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

Immutep (IMMP) Surges 65% on Upbeat Lung Cancer Study Data

Shares of Immutep Limited IMMP surged 64.8% on May 17, after it announced positive data from part A of the phase II TACTI-002 study that evaluated the combination use of its lead pipeline candidate, eftilagimod alpha (“efti”) in first-line (“1L”) non-small cell lung cancer (“NSCLC”).

Part A of the TACTI-002 study, which evaluated the combination of efti and Merck‘s MRK blockbuster anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab), achieved robust initial overall survival (“OS”) in patients with 1L NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression status. An initial median OS of 25 months was achieved in 1L NSCLC patients who have a PD-L1 tumor proportion score (“TPS”) of >1%.

Per Immutep, this initial median OS of 25-months attained in patients receiving efti plus Merck’s Keytruda was significantly higher than patients who received other anti-PD-1 monotherapy and various immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations with and without chemotherapy. Management believes that adding efti to an anti-PD-1 therapy like Merck’s Keytruda provided deep and durable responses in study participants, without any additional toxicity.