Merus Announces Acceptance of Abstracts on MCLA-129 for Lung Cancer and Head & Neck Cancer at ESMO Asia Congress 2023

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage oncology company, has recently announced that abstracts on their bispecific antibody MCLA-129 have been accepted for presentation at the upcoming European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia Congress 2023. The event is scheduled to take place in Singapore from December 1-3, 2023.

The abstracts focus on the potential of MCLA-129 in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). MCLA-129 is currently being evaluated in a phase 1/2 clinical trial, both as a monotherapy and in combination with osimertinib, a third-generation EGFR TKI.

In the NSCLC cohort, MCLA-129 is being studied as a first-line therapy for patients with treatment-naïve EGFR mutant NSCLC, as well as for patients who have progressed on osimertinib. The company has discontinued enrollment in the exon20 NSCLC cohort due to competitive reasons.

Additionally, an abstract on another bispecific antibody, zenocutuzumab (Zeno), in patients with neuregulin 1 fusion (NRG1+) NSCLC, has also been accepted for presentation. This presentation will be an encore of the mini-oral presentation scheduled at the ESMO Congress 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Merus is currently enrolling patients in the phase 1/2 eNRGy trial to assess the safety and anti-tumor activity of Zeno monotherapy in NRG1+ cancer. The trial consists of three cohorts, including NRG1+ pancreatic cancer, NRG1+ NSCLC, and other NRG1+ cancer.

The abstracts will be available on the ESMO Asia Congress website on November 26, 2023, and the full presentations will be accessible on the Merus website at the start of each session.

MCLA-129 is designed to inhibit the EGFR and c-MET signaling pathways in solid tumors, while Zeno utilizes the Merus Dock & Block mechanism to inhibit the neuregulin/HER3 tumor-signaling pathway in NRG1+ cancer. Both bispecific antibodies show promising potential in preclinical studies.

Merus N.V. is dedicated to developing innovative full-length human bispecific and trispecific antibody therapeutics, known as Multiclonics®. These antibodies have demonstrated features similar to conventional human monoclonal antibodies, such as long half-life and low immunogenicity.

For more information about Merus N.V. and their ongoing clinical trials, please visit their website or contact their Investor Relations and Corporate Communications departments.