Shares of OncoSec Medical Inc. dropped more than 60% in premarket trading Monday after the clinical-stage biotechnology company reported the failure of its lead drug candidate in a Phase 2 combination study with Merck & Co.’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.
The Pennington, N.J., company said the single-arm trial evaluating TAVO-EP in combination with Keytruda in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma missed the primary endpoint of overall response rate.
OncoSec said it now plans to pursue TAVO-EP in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy in the neoadjuvant melanoma setting.
OncoSec shares, which closed Friday at $2.58, were recently down 61% to $1 in premarket trading. The stock has gained about 53% in the first three months of 2023.