AIM ImmunoTech Inc. announced encouraging translational data from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial utilizing AIM?s drug Ampligen in patients with platinum-sensitive advanced recurrent ovarian cancer. The abstract with data illustrations, titled Combination intraperitoneal chemoimmunotherapy triggers a T-cell chemotactic locoregional response in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, was presented by collaborators from the Magee-Womens Research Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC) ? one of the world?s top centers for the treatment of gynecological cancers ?

at the recent Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting, in San Diego, Calif. Data highlighted in the abstract were collected by UPMC through translational studies focused on the immune tumor microenvironment (TME), using a longitudinal collection of biospecimens, including plasma, PBMC, IP washes and tumor tissue collected from patients treated in a Phase 2, efficacy/safety trial (NCT03734692) combining intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy (cisplatin) with dual agent immunotherapy using intravenous (IV) pembrolizumab (anti-PD1, Keytruda®, provided by Merck) and IP rintatolimod (Ampligen, a dsRNA acting as toll-like receptor 3 -TLR-3- agonist, provided by AIM). Sequential sampling of the IP cavity showed an increase in cellularity immediately after treatment consistent with an ?acute?

pro-inflammatory reaction. Mesoscale Delivery (MSD) measurements in IP washes revealed an acute increase in granzyme B, perforin, TNF alpha, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 after treatment (p<0.05). Longitudinal data revealed a progressive increase in some biomarkers (p<0.05).

RNA sequencing data showed a significant upregulation acutely in STAT1 and downstream targets, CXCL9, 10, 11 and TH1 type response genes (p<0.05).