Dr. Brahmer on the Examination of Nemvaleukin Alfa in Solid Tumors

Julie R. Brahmer, MD, MSc, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, professor of Oncology, Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the examination of nemvaleukin alfa (ALKS 4230; nemvaleukin) in solid tumors.

The phase 1/2 ARTISTRY-1 trial (NCT02799095) examined the safety and tolerability of nemvaleukin alfa to determine the recommended phase 2 dose and assess the agent’s antitumor activity as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda).

Nemvaleukin alfa is an engineered cytokine with a stable fusion protein that is not meant to degrade IL2, Brahmer says. By getting the drug into the tumor microenvironment, it can assist with mitigating toxicities observed with high-dose IL2 and avoid the expansion of T-regulatory cells, Brahmer explains. Additionally, by accessing the tumor microenvironment, nemvaleukin alfa can increase NK cells and CD8-positive T-cells, Brahmer adds.

At the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, data from the ARTISTRY-1 trial showed nemvaleukin alfa monotherapy had activity in multiple tumor types with minimal toxicity and no capillary leak syndrome, which is known to occur with high-dose IL2 therapies in patients with renal cell carcinoma and melanoma, Brahmer continues. Responses were observed in patients with lung cancer, head and neck cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, and genitourinary cancers, Brahmer says.

In patients who received nemvaleukin alfa with pembrolizumab, activity was seen in ovarian cancer and mucosal melanoma who have been refractory to single-agent checkpoint inhibitors, Brahmer concludes.

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