Bavituximab and Ipilimumab Combination Trial to be Initiated in Patients With Advanced Melanoma

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. t

oday announced the opening of an investigator-sponsored trial (IST) of its investigational immunotherapy bavituximab in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's ipilimumab (Yervoy(R)), for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

Bavituximab is an upstream immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets phosphatidylserine (PS), a highly immunosuppressive molecule exposed on cells that line tumor blood vessels and tumor cells. Preclinical data in a model of melanoma demonstrate that the combination of a bavituximab equivalent and ipilimumab yield enhanced anti-tumor activity compared to ipilimumab alone.

The trial is being conducted at the

University of Texas

Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and led by Arthur E. Frankel, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the

Simmons

Comprehensive Cancer Center. Bavituximab, Peregrine's lead immuno-oncology candidate, is being evaluated in second-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as part of the SUNRISE pivotal Phase III clinical trial.

Read the complete report here:

http://on.mktw.net/1mAlLRC

Source: MarketWatch