Portage Biotech Inc. announced the presentation of updates from its ongoing Phase 1/2 study of PORT-2 (IMM60), an invariant natural killer T cell (iNKT) agonist for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and advanced melanoma, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 37th Annual Meeting (SITC 2022). The meeting is being held from November 8-12 in Boston, Massachusetts. The poster includes updated data from the IMP-MEL study (currently being expanded in the U.S. and EU as the IMPORT-201 study), a multi-arm Phase 1/2 trial evaluating PORT-2 in multiple settings including front line and refractory NSCLC and refractory melanoma, both as a monotherapy and in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab).

The data builds on previous results shared at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June. About PORT-2: PORT-2 is a liposomal formulation of IMM60, an invariant natural killer T cell (iNKT) agonist developed by the University of Oxford. iNKT cells are a distinct class of T lymphocytes which play an important role in anti-tumor immune responses by recognizing lipid antigens on the surface of the tumor.

Our synthetic iNKT agonists are designed to optimally engage the T cell receptor on the iNKT and facilitate its binding to dendritic cells, resulting in the secretion of a large amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This leads to the activation and expansion of important immune system components and primes and boosts an adaptive immune attack against cancer. We see that monotherapy treatment with iNKT agonists shows a heightened immune response and better cancer control in animal models that are resistant to PD-1 antibody treatment.

Additionally, combination therapy with PD-1 antibodies is synergistic with iNKT agonists and restores sensitivity to PD-1 blockade.