EpicentRx Inc, a clinical cancer immunotherapy company, has revealed positive results from the Phase one G-FORCE trial of RRx-001 as first-line treatment in newly diagnosed glioblastoma, it was reported yesterday.

The data were presented by Nicholas Butowski, MD, a principal investigator on the trial and professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, on 22 November at the Society for Neuro-Oncology annual meeting in Phoenix.

In the G-FORCE trial, 18 patients with histologically verified glioblastoma received the product plus radiotherapy and temozolomide. After a six-week break, patients in cohorts one to three received temozolomide maintenance therapy, while patients in cohorts four to six received temozolomide plus RRx-001 maintenance therapy.

RRx-001 is the company's lead program and a small molecule immunotherapy targeting the CD47 – SIRP alpha axis and has been assessed in multiple clinical studies. RRx-001 combination therapy led to an overall survival (OS) of 21.9 months, compared with historical overall survival data of 15-20 months. The RRx-001 combo also led to a progression-free survival (PFS) of 13 months, compared with historical PFS data of six to seven months.

The company said that the combination therapy was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events considered related to treatment with RRx-001.