Investing.com -- Pliant Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PLRX) stock jumped 6.5% in premarket trading Thursday after the company reported positive interim data from its Phase 1 trial of cancer drug PLN-101095.
The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company announced that its experimental drug, when combined with pembrolizumab, showed encouraging anti-tumor activity in patients with advanced solid tumors who were previously resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
The trial demonstrated one complete response and three partial responses across the three highest dose cohorts in heavily pretreated patients. These responses were observed in various cancer types including cholangiocarcinoma, melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and non-small cell lung cancer.
Notably, patients showing responses had significant increases in plasma interferon gamma levels after initial monotherapy treatment with PLN-101095, providing a potential biomarker for treatment efficacy. The median time on treatment for responding patients reached 15 months.
"These first-in-human data suggest that this novel approach of selectively targeting αvβ8 and αvβ1 may hold promise for treating patients with advanced solid tumors resistant to checkpoint inhibitors," said Manish Sharma, M.D., Co-Director of Clinical Research at START Midwest in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
PLN-101095 is an oral, small molecule dual inhibitor of specific integrin receptors and represents the fourth clinical-stage drug from Pliant’s development platform. Based on these results, the company plans to accelerate development with a Phase 1b expansion trial in 2026.
The South San Francisco-based company also highlighted its strong financial position, noting that current cash reserves should support planned operations through 2028.
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