NKMax to release phase 1 sarcoma study results at ASCO in June

NKMax, a biotech firm focusing on natural killer (NK) cell therapies, announced on Monday that an abstract of a phase 1 study in solid cancer (sarcoma) has been accepted for presentation at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June.

NKGen Biotech, a subsidiary of NKMax, will give the presentation on the U.S. phase 1 sarcoma study.

A researcher works at a lab of NKMax in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The abstract contains interim results of Cohort 4, which received SNK01 in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor Bavencio (avelumab).

Sarcoma is rare cancer without any established standard treatment.

It is a “cold tumor” that does not respond to highly toxic chemotherapy. It also has a very low response to treatment.

In 2020, ASCO accepted NKMax’s abstract of a Korean phase 1/2a study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a U.S. phase 1 study in solid cancer, and a study measuring NK cell activity as a biomarker.

Analyst Kim Tae-hee at KB Securities said the annual meeting of ASCO is a “festival for multinational drugmakers” because it is where they announce late-stage clinical results.

“ASCO is one of the most important societies in the pharmaceutical industry,” the analyst said.