NextCure Inc (NASDAQ:NXTC) recently released interim findings from its phase 1/2 Monothapy clinical study evaluating NC318.
The company revealed that it has decided not to progress with ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cohorts to stage two of the clinical trial. The decision was based on clinical response data, as well as the current criteria for enrollment. NextCure also revealed that the biomarker data analysis for the study cohorts will be delayed since they are not yet finalized. The biopharma will decide whether to keep pushing the monotherapy studies forward once it evaluates the interim data.
NextCure also revealed that it observed one partial response in HNSCC and that its observation supported the advancement of that particular stage 2 segment into the Simon 2-stage trial. The biopharma is still evaluating the biomarker data from Siglec-15 (S15) as a criterion for selecting patients.
“While the monotherapy data in the NSCLC and ovarian cancer cohorts are disappointing, we continue to evaluate patient selection criteria for our ongoing NC318 clinical trials,” stated NextCure CEO Michael Richman.
Dr. Kevin Heller resigns from his position as NextCure’s Chief Medical Officer
The CEO also noted that the company expects to release more biomarker data as well as a clinical data update for NC318 in Q4 this year. NextCure also revealed that Dr. Kevin N. Heller is stepping down from his position as the company’s Chief Medical Officer. He will officially hand over and leave the company on August 4, 2020. He decided to resign from the position so that he can pursue other opportunities.
The company has already started looking for someone qualified to fill the Chief Medical Officer position that will be empty upon Dr. Heller’s exit next month. Despite leaving the CMO position, Dr. Heller will maintain his ties with NextCure as a consultant. Dr. Richman expressed gratitude to Dr. Heller for his contributions to the company while he was the Chief Medical Officer. He also noted that the company looks forward to working with him and his input as a consultant for NextCure.
