Hopes turn to combining peptide vaccines with immuno-oncology products for glioblastoma treatment, say analysts

The termination of a Phase III trial by Celldex assessing its peptide-based vaccine therapy, Rintega (rindopepimut), in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma patients, represents a blow to the treatment space as hopes for improved therapies turn instead to Opdivo (nivolumab) and drugs combining peptide vaccines with immuno-oncology products, according to analysts with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

In a press release earlier this month (The Pharma Letter March 8), Celldex Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CLDX) stated that the trial was terminated because “Rintega has performed consistently with prior Phase II studies but the control arm has significantly outperformed expectations.”

Dan Roberts, GlobalData’s senior analyst covering oncology and hematology, explains: “The fact that this study involved a control arm which outperformed historical controls was not unexpected, as patients who were enrolled in this trial underwent total resection and had no evidence of a progressive disease.”