Galecto Biotech, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments for fibrosis and cancer, announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the Phase 2a GALLANT-1 trial (NCT05240131). GALLANT-1 is formulated to study the combination of GB1211, Galecto’s oral small molecule galectin-3 inhibitor, with Roche’s PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor, atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Galecto anticipates topline data from GALLANT-1 in mid-2023.
The initiation of GALLANT-1 resumes Galecto’s strategy to treat cancer and fibrotic diseases through developing targeted therapeutics. Galectin-3, the target of GB1211, is elevated in many cancers. Increased galectin-3 expression in tumors is linked to tumor growth, invasiveness and metastatic potential. Furthermore, increased levels of galectin-3 in the tumor microenvironment facilitates tumor escape from the immune response by suppressing essential T-cell functions and activating tumor-protecting macrophages. Clinical evidence from patients with NSCLC suggests that high levels of galectin-3 in tumors leads to resistance to treatment with checkpoint inhibitors. In multiple pre-clinical models, including NSCLC, GB1211 has been shown to reduce tumor growth and metastasis and increase efficacy of checkpoint inhibition.
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