Apexigen Announces Phase 2 Data Evaluating Sotigalimab, its CD40 Agonist Antibody, in Combination with Doxorubicin in Patients with Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma Presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 Annual Meeting

- Marked increases in overall survival observed across soft tissue sarcoma patients -

- Demonstrated improvement of median progression free survival in patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) -

- DDLPS expansion cohort enrolling to inform a potential Phase 3 registration trial -

SAN CARLOS, Calif., June 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apexigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: APGN) a clinical-stage company focused on developing innovative antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer with a focus on immuno-oncology, today announced the presentation of new data from a Phase 2 investigator-sponsored trial in collaboration with Columbia University, evaluating sotigalimab (sotiga), Apexigen’s agonist antibody targeting CD40, in combination with standard-of-care doxorubicin (dox), in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). These data were presented in a poster presentation on June 3, 2023 at the ASCO Annual Meeting being held both virtually and in person in Chicago, IL.

Sotiga combined with dox was safe and well tolerated and indicated increases in overall survival (OS) with a median OS of 35.6 months across all STS patients evaluated, which is markedly higher than the historical OS of 12.8 to 20 months of dox alone across STS subtypes. Moreover, subtype-specific analysis demonstrated improvement in median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 10.95 months in patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) which is markedly higher than the historical mPFS of 4 months in patients with DDLPS.

“We are excited to present new data at ASCO from the Phase 2 trial in patients with advanced STS that supports further development of sotiga-based combinations and underscores the significant opportunity to provide patients with meaningful clinical benefit characterized by rapid, deep and durable responses with a favorable safety profile,” said Xiaodong Yang, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Apexigen. “Notably, we are encouraged by the median overall survival results across sarcoma subtypes and the data demonstrating that the subgroup of patients with DDLPS treated with sotiga in combination with dox achieved a mPFS, more than double that seen historically with dox alone. We look forward to building on these impressive findings with our DDLPS expansion cohort, which will potentially inform a Phase 3 registration study in DDLPS.”