Shares of Elicio Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ELTX) rose 15.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company disclosed complete responses in pancreatic cancer patients following treatment sequences that included ELI-002 7P.
According to the company, three patients who had progressed while on ELI-002 7P in the Phase 2 AMPLIFY-7P study subsequently received nivolumab-based therapy and achieved confirmed complete radiographic and complete metabolic responses. The company emphasized that all three patients were microsatellite stable/mismatch repair proficient - a subgroup that has historically shown limited response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Complete responses in metastatic pancreatic cancer are uncommon. Elicio cited published studies that report complete response rates across chemotherapy-, checkpoint inhibitor-, and RAS inhibitor-based regimens at roughly 0% to 8%. Two of the patients who achieved complete responses maintained those responses for at least eight months, while a third patient has an ongoing complete response that has exceeded 13 months.
Beyond radiographic and metabolic assessments, Elicio reported immune and biomarker signals in these patients. All three showed sustained mutant KRAS-specific T cell responses and concurrent normalization of the tumor biomarker CA19-9.
The company stated that ELI-002 7P-induced mutant KRAS-specific T cells may work together with checkpoint inhibition to produce deep antitumor responses in a cancer type previously viewed as refractory to immunotherapy. The language in the release frames the observed outcomes as a potential synergy between the vaccine-induced immune response and subsequent checkpoint blockade.
Looking ahead, Elicio said it intends, subject to funding, to initiate a Phase 1 study in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma designed to yield a rapid assessment of clinical activity. That planned study will evaluate ELI-002 7P in combination with standard gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy and an anti-PD-1 inhibitor in treatment-naïve metastatic mutant KRAS pancreatic cancer.
The company added that findings from the planned Phase 1 study would be used to further assess combinations with checkpoint inhibitors and to inform future development strategies in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma as well as the adjuvant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma Phase 3 trial.
Sector impact - The developments touch the biotechnology and broader healthcare sectors, and contributed to a notable move in Elicio Therapeutics' equity in premarket trading.