Lytix Biopharma announces today the official opening of the Phase II study of intratumoral injection of LTX-315 in a combination therapy in patients with solid tumors. The study will be run at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas with Sarina Piha-Paul as primary investigator.

“The initiation of the phase II studies in the US marks the starting point for our most important clinical investigation. I’m very happy that we have reached this milestone with backing from the world’s leading cancer investigators at MD Anderson Cancer Center”, says Dr. Øystein Rekdal, CEO of Lytix Biopharma.

The Phase II clinical study in the US is designed to assess the efficacy of LTX-315 in several types of solid tumors including melanoma (skin cancer), metastatic breast cancer and head and neck cancer. The trial will be a multicenter study including MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, which is one of the world leading cancer hospitals.

Lytix Biopharma’s leading product candidate – LTX-315 – will be evaluated in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor Pembrolizumab, which blocks tumor cells’ ability to inhibit the body’s immune response. Results from earlier-initial studies indicate that the combination of LTX-315 and Pembrolizumab may work better than Pembrolizumab alone.

“We strongly believe that Lytix’ technology represents a missing link in today’s cancer treatment, since it enables the immune system to both identify and eliminate cancer cells. When we now open the Phase II study to recruit patients, we are one step closer important clinical responses”, he says.