Immutep Eftilagimod Alfa ASCO 2026 Pooled Analysis (May 30): Immune Responders Lived Median 7.7 Months Longer Across 592 Late-Stage Cancer Patients in Five Trials
Immutep presented a pooled exploratory analysis at ASCO 2026 (May 30, Poster 359, Abstract 2569) of 592 late-stage cancer patients across five trials — TACTI-mel, TACTI-002, TACTI-003, AIPAC, and AIPAC-003 — spanning non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, metastatic breast cancer, and melanoma. Patients who mounted an immune response to eftilagimod alfa (efti) lived a median 7.7 months longer than those who did not. Eftilagimod alfa is a soluble LAG-3 protein that activates antigen-presenting cells via MHC class II, driving rapid and sustained lymphocyte activation. The analysis showed that 30 mg subcutaneous efti plus standard of care (chemotherapy or a PD-1 antagonist) significantly increased circulating absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) — a blood-based immune-activity marker — versus standard of care alone. The data positions ALC increase as a potential pharmacodynamic biomarker of efti response. The result follows the earlier futility-halt of efti's Phase 3 first-line NSCLC trial, making the pooled survival signal a credibility rebuild for the MHC-II-activator mechanism.