Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. announced results from the INSPIRE phase 2 trial of IRX-2, a multi-cytokine biologic immunotherapy, in patients with newly diagnosed stage II, III, or IVA squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. The primary endpoint of the study was to estimate 2-year Event-Free Survival (EFS) with key secondary endpoints of Overall Survival (OS) and safety of IRX-2. One hundred and fifty patients were enrolled in the study. At two years of follow-up in the intention-to-treat (ITT, n=105) population the median EFS was 48.3 months and was not reached in the control arm (Hazard Ratio 1.10 (95% Confidence Interval, 0.6-2.1; p value=0.62)).

In key pre-specified subgroups defined by stage and type of adjuvant treatment, outcomes favored IRX-2. Patients in these subgroups were less likely to experience an EFS event in the IRX-2 arm compared to control. Trends in EFS rates as defined by the Kaplan-Meier estimate at two years of follow-up in patients with later stage (III and IV) disease were 57.2 (40.3, 70.9) vs 49.4 (28.3, 67.4) in favor of IRX-2. In patients that did not receive chemotherapy (radiation only) as part of adjuvant treatment, the EFS Kaplan-Meier estimate at two years of follow-up was 76.4 (52.2, 89.4) vs 60.6 (29.4, 81.4) in favor of IRX-2. There were no new safety signals observed with IRX-2. Adverse events related to study treatment were higher in the IRX-2 arm than the control arm (55.9% vs 40%) and were driven primarily by injection site reactions and fatigue. The Company plans to present the results of the INSPIRE study at a scientific conference later this year.