Apexigen Touts New Positive Sotigalimab Data Showing Expanded Anti-Tumor Responses

Apexigen Inc APGN announced the presentation of new data from Phase 2 multicenter clinical trials evaluating sotigalimab (sotiga), its agonist antibody targeting CD40, in two poster presentations at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.
Following a single dose of sotiga monotherapy, T cell density increased, mainly activated and memory cytotoxic T cells and macrophages. Although patient sample numbers are small, pathologic complete responses were associated with an increased density of T cells following a single dose of sotiga.
Single-agent sotiga induced infiltration and activation of myeloid cells. Sotiga also induced infiltration of CD8+ T cells while decreasing the frequency of CD4+ regulatory T cells in the TME.
In a separate study, results demonstrated that adding sotiga to short-course radiation therapy (SCRT) led to increased activation of anti-cancer immune cells, including T cells, B cells, and dendritic cells in the TME of rectal cancer patients compared to SCRT alone.
The combination showed the potential to improve clinical responses and avoid surgery.
These emerging data highlight the potential of combining sotiga, an agent that induces robust immune responses, with SCRT to treat rectal cancer patients.
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