7 Hills Pharma Begins Phase 1b/2a Trial of Alintegimod for aPD-1-resistant Tumors

Sept. 3, 2024 – 7 Hills Pharma Inc. (“7 Hills” or “7HP”), a company dedicated to advancing cancer immunotherapies with innovative integrin activators, has announced that the first cancer patient in their clinical trial has been safely administered alintegimod. Alintegimod is an integrin-targeted agonist aimed at enhancing T cell activation and trafficking in patients who show resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The ongoing Phase 1b/2a multicenter study (NCT06362369) is funded by a $13.4 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DP230062) and a $2.0 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (R44CA285207).

Alintegimod employs a novel mechanism of action, developed by the co-founders of 7 Hills Pharma, to enhance critical steps in the cancer immunity cycle, including immune cell trafficking, antigen presentation, and T cell activation.

“We are grateful to reach this significant milestone in alintegimod’s clinical development,” said Lionel D. Lewis, Chief Medical Officer of 7 Hills Pharma. “Administering alintegimod to our first cancer patient marks a crucial advancement in our mission to offer safer, more effective, and more accessible immunotherapy options to patients battling difficult-to-treat cancers.”

7 Hills Pharma specializes in developing small molecule immunotherapies for cancer treatment and stem cell therapy enhancement. Their compounds, which are first-in-concept allosteric integrin activators, utilize a unique mechanism to stabilize the cell-cell interactions necessary for an effective immune response and to accelerate the engraftment of transplanted hematopoietic stem cells.

Alintegimod, the lead integrin activator from 7 Hills Pharma, is an orally administered small molecule designed to safely enhance antigen-specific immune responses by selectively activating integrins LFA-1 and VLA-4. In preclinical models, alintegimod has demonstrated potential in improving the effectiveness of various immune checkpoint inhibitors. In a Phase I clinical trial, alintegimod showed good oral bioavailability and a clean safety profile at doses higher than therapeutic levels.

How to obtain the latest research advancements in the field of biopharmaceuticals?

In the Synapse database, you can keep abreast of the latest research and development advances in drugs, targets, indications, organizations, etc., anywhere and anytime, on a daily or weekly basis. Click on the image below to embark on a brand new journey of drug discovery!