Immunotherapy company Tessa Therapeutics said on Monday that it plans to evaluate its armored human papillomavirus-specific T cell (HPVST) therapy, or TT12, in combination with Merck's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with recurrent or metastatic HPV 16 and 18-positive cervical cancer.

According to the WHO, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and is caused by sexually acquired infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), with two HPV types (16 and 18) accounting for 70% of cervical cancers and pre-cancerous cervical lesions.

In conjunction, Tessa will evaluate its armored human papillomavirus-specific T cell (HPVST) therapy, or TT12, in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), Merck's anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, in patients with recurrent or metastatic HPV 16 and 18-positive cervical cancer under a multi-centre Phase 1b/2 trial tin the US, Singapore and South Korea.

Tessa's TT12 is an autologous cell therapy product composed of HPVSTs that have been trained to target HPV 16/18 antigens and genetically modified with a decoy TGF-β receptor to overcome the suppressive tumor microenvironment. T cells are a critical part of the body's immune system that play a central role in fighting virus infections and cancers. Virus-Specific T cells (VSTs) have the ability to recognize and kill infected cells while activating other parts of immune system for a coordinated response.

HPVSTs are produced by collecting patient's blood and selectively expanding T cells which recognize HPV 16/18 antigens. To increase durability in the tumor microenvironment, the HPVSTs are armored by modifying the cells to express a decoy TGF-β receptor. The armored HPVSTs are expanded before undergoing strict quality control prior to infusion back into the patient, concluded the company.