Scancell advances cancer immunotherapy trial with new dosing approach for advanced melanoma
Published: 02:24 25 Jun 2025 EDT
Scancell Holdings PLC (AIM:SCLP, OTC:SCNLF) has begun dosing patients in a new arm of its ongoing phase II trial, exploring an updated method for delivering its next-generation cancer immunotherapy for advanced melanoma.
Known as Cohort 4, the study will assess intradermal administration and an accelerated dosing schedule of Scancell’s iSCIB1+ Immunobody therapy, which is designed to stimulate the immune system to attack tumours.
The company said that the first eight patients have been safely dosed without any significant side effects, marking a key milestone in the development of the treatment.
Called SCOPE, the formal scientific evaluation will assess the effectiveness of iSCIB1+ in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, a class of drugs that help the immune system target cancer cells.
The trial is open-label and being run across multiple sites, with more than 140 patients expected to be enrolled across four different cohorts.
Data from the earlier arms of the study, which tested both the original and updated versions of the therapy alongside checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab and nivolumab, showed promising results.
In one group of 25 patients, Scancell reported a disease control rate of 84% and a complete response rate of 20%, figures the company says suggest an improvement over existing treatment standards.
Further data from the first three cohorts are expected in July, while early results from the newly launched fourth cohort are due around the end of the year.
Scancell, which is listed on the AIM market, is also progressing work on its GlyMab antibody platform and preparing to spin out the technology into a separate entity, Glymab Therapeutics.
The move is aimed at sharpening the company’s focus on product development at a time when funding conditions for biotech remain challenging.