NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX) today announced that it has launched a pivotal, randomized, double-blind, controlled Phase 3 trial of rindopepimut in patients with surgically resected epidermal growth factor variant III (EGFRvIII)-positive glioblastoma, the “ACT IV Study.” US investigators have started screening patients for inclusion in the trial that is expected to enroll up to 440 patients internationally to recruit 374 patients with Gross Total Resection (GTR) for the primary analysis. Rindopepimut is a therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate that targets the tumor-specific oncogene EGFRvIII, which confers an enhanced capacity for unregulated tumor growth and which is present in many cancer cell types, but not present at significant levels in normal cells. Expression of EGFRvIII is linked to poor long term survival regardless of other factors such as extent of resection and age. EGFRvIII has been shown by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to be expressed in approximately 31% of glioblastoma tumors.
