Adagene Inc. announced that the first patients have been dosed in a phase 1b/2 clinical trial of the anti-CD137 agonist antibody, ADG106, in combination with the anti-PD-1 antibody, Nivolumab for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on prior therapies. The phase 1b/2 open label trial is designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, and anti-tumor activity of the combination in up to 53 patients with advanced NSCLC who have progressed after prior treatment. The trial will also include exploratory biomarker analyses of a novel predictive biomarker and immune cell profiling in response to the treatment.

The clinical trial is being led by Professor Goh Boon Cher, Senior Consultant, Department of Hematology-Oncology and Deputy Director (Research) at NCIS, and Associate Professor Daniel Tan, Head of the Division of Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Sciences and Senior Consultant, Division of Medical Oncology, NCCS. Both Professor Goh and Associate Professor Tan lead the STCC's Cancer Clinical Trials & Investigational Medicine Unit that brings together centers in Singapore for scaled up capacity, efficiency and expertise in conducting cancer clinical trials. NSCLC is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

Despite the proven use of low-dose CT scan as a screening tool for lung cancer, most patients still present with stage 3 or 4 disease and only about 20 % are operable, with a five-year survival overall of about 10 %. Metastatic disease is the primary cause of death from NSCLC.