Lava Therapeutics announces collaboration with Merck & co., inc., Rahway, NJ, USA to evaluate Lava-1207 in combination with Keytruda®

LAVA Therapeutics N.V. (Nasdaq: LVTX), today announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA to evaluate its anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in combination with LAVA-1207, a Gammabody® designed to target the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to trigger the potent and preferential killing of PSMA-positive tumor cells, in patients with therapy refractory metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA will provide pembrolizumab for the dose escalation and expansion phases of LAVA’s ongoing Phase 1/2a study of LAVA-1207 (NCT05369000), with the combination arm expected to be initiated in the first half of 2024. Enrollment and dose escalation will also continue in the LAVA-1207 monotherapy and interleukin-2 arms of the study.

“We are excited to work with Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA as we continue to unlock the therapeutic potential of LAVA-1207 and explore its potential capabilities in combination with KEYTRUDA®,” said Stephen Hurly, President and Chief Executive Officer, LAVA. “To date, LAVA-1207 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and shown preliminary signs of anti-tumor activity. Prostate cancer has presented challenges for immune checkpoint therapies in the past – we are hopeful the combination of our products may deliver important clinical outcomes.”

“The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in most mCRPC patients has resulted in overall low antitumor activity for immune checkpoint inhibitors,” commented Hans van der Vliet, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, LAVA. “Increased numbers of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells have been shown to be related to improved outcomes in prostate cancer patients. With LAVA-1207, we aim to promote the antitumor activity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells present in these tumors and drive more of these cells into the tumors, where their activation may result in increased PD-1 expression. By utilizing LAVA-1207 and pembrolizumab, our goal is to evaluate the potential activation of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells to directly attack prostate cancer cells and trigger a broader antitumor immune response that may also benefit from inhibition of PD-1 through pembrolizumab.”

KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co. LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA.

About LAVA-1207

LAVA-1207 is a proprietary Gammabody® that conditionally activates Vγ9Vδ2 (Vgamma9 Vdelta2) T cells, upon crosslinking to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), to trigger the potent and preferential killing of PSMA-positive tumor cells in patients with prostate cancer, including metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

About LAVA Therapeutics

LAVA Therapeutics N.V. is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on advancing its proprietary Gammabody® platform to develop a portfolio of bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers for the potential treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The Company utilizes bispecific antibodies engineered to selectively kill cancer cells by triggering Vγ9Vδ2 (Vgamma9 Vdelta2) T cell antitumor effector functions upon cross-linking to tumor-associated antigens. A Phase 1/2a dose escalation study to evaluate LAVA-1207 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is actively enrolling in Europe and the United States (NCT05369000). The Company is collaborating with Seagen for the clinical development of SGN-EGFRd2 (LAVA-1223) and Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA for the clinical development of LAVA-1207. For more information, please visit www.lavatherapeutics.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.