Phase 1b Study to examine Neon Therapeutics’ Personal Neoantigen Cancer Vaccine with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s Anti-PD-1 Therapy, and Chemotherapy

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I December 7, 2017 I Neon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-based therapeutics, today announced that it has entered a clinical trial collaboration with Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) to evaluate Neon Therapeutics’ proprietary personal neoantigen vaccine, NEO-PV-01, in combination with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), along with chemotherapy.

NEO-PV-01 is Neon Therapeutics’ most advanced product candidate, and is a personal neoantigen vaccine based on DNA mutations from each patients’ tumor. Neon Therapeutics and Merck will collaborate on a Phase 1b clinical trial that will examine the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of NEO-PV-01 in combination with KEYTRUDA, pemetrexed and carboplatin in patients with untreated advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Additionally, the trial will assess neoantigen-specific immune responses in peripheral blood and tumor tissue, and other markers of immune response.

“We believe there is a strong mechanistic rationale to explore the combination of a personal neoantigen cancer vaccine, anti-PD-1 therapy and chemotherapy,” said Richard Gaynor, M.D., president of research and development at Neon Therapeutics. “Together with a growing set of clinical collaborators, we are working to amass a diverse set of clinical data to understand the potential of NEO-PV-01 to improve durability and response rates in combination with multiple immuno-oncology targets.”

The collaboration agreement is between Neon Therapeutics, Inc. and Merck, through a subsidiary. Additional details were not disclosed.

About Neon Therapeutics, Inc.

Neon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company and a leader in the field of neoantigen-targeted therapies, dedicated to transforming the treatment of cancer by directing the immune system towards neoantigens. We have pioneered a proprietary neoantigen platform to develop neoantigen-targeted therapies using two distinct approaches. In NEON / ONE, these neoantigens are specific to each individual. In NEON / SELECT, these neoantigens are shared across subsets of patients and tumor types. Our most advanced product candidate is NEO PV 01, a personal neoantigen vaccine, that is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.neontherapeutics.com.

SOURCE: Neon Therapeutics