Accession Therapeutics obtains approval for first TROCEPT cancer clinical trial in UK
Oxford, UK, January 30 2025 - Accession Therapeutics Limited, which is developing novel, first-in-class immunotherapies targeted at tumour sites and administered systemically to provide a step-change in cancer treatment, will be starting its first trial in cancer patients shortly following CTA approval from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This milestone has been reached in just over three years since company inception. The first-in-human Phase 1 study of TROCEPT-01, the company’s leading programme incorporating its proprietary TROCEPT technology, will enrol patients with solid tumour carcinomas. Alongside the trial, which will provide clinical validation of the platform, Accession Therapeutics is raising a $40m financing round for further portfolio expansion using its highly versatile technology.
The ATTEST trial of TROCEPT-01, which will be known as ATTR-01 in the clinic, will involve patients across six leading UK centres with non-small cell lung cancer, bladder, pancreatic, head and neck, cholangiocarcinoma and endometrial cancers. Following clinical scientific advice through the European Medicines Agency, the company has also submitted a clinical trial application in Spain where there is significant expertise in the treatment of carcinomas. It plans to expand the recruitment of the Phase 1 study to key sites there.
TROCEPT-01 encodes a clinically validated immune checkpoint inhibitor transgene as the payload. Once cancer cells are infected, they will start producing and secreting the drug payload. The programme has the potential to expand the indications in which checkpoint inhibitors could be successful and increase clinical response rates through high tumour-localised production of the drug. The company’s second product, TROCEPT-02, encodes a universal bispecific antibody potent against tumour and stromal cells and is expected to enter the clinic in 2026.
Bent Jakobsen, PhD FMedSci, CEO of Accession Therapeutics, said:
Professor Alan Parker, Chief Scientific Officer, said ‘It’s wonderful to see an invention made at Cardiff University progress into the clinic.’UK CTA approval for the TROCEPT-01 Phase 1 study is a huge milestone for the company and takes us closer to demonstrating clinical validation of our TROCEPT platform. We anticipate the clinical data will show that the virus gets to the tumours when given systemically and the drug is produced within the tumours as well as being safe and well tolerated. In TROCEPT, we have created a highly versatile platform, truly the first platform that can enable novel drugs to be made inside cancer cells. TROCEPT gives us multiple opportunities to generate valuable products to transform outcomes for cancer patients.
