39.3 months median overall survival in first-line (1L) R/M immune checkpoint inhibitor naïve patients

Company continues to prioritize PDS0301 in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) while pursuing partnership strategy for PDS0101

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ:PDSB) ("PDS Biotech" or the "Company"), a late-stage immunotherapy company focused on transforming how the immune system targets and kills cancers, today announced the publication of results from a Phase 2 trial evaluating PDS0101, its HPV16-targeted immunotherapy, in combination with pembrolizumab in the September 17, 2026, issue of JAMA Oncology, a peer reviewed journal of the American Medical Association. The data were published in an article titled "VERSATILE-002 – A Phase 2 Study of PDS0101 HPV16-targeted T Cell Immunotherapy and Pembrolizumab Combination in HPV16-Positive Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial."

Key findings

  • 62.3% of the ICI-naïve participants in the mITT cohort (n = 53) had low CPS of 1-19, and 37.7% had high CPS ≥ 20. In the overall CPS ≥ 1 population, the mOS was 39.3 months (95% CI, 23.9 to NE); The best published result with standard of care pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab + chemotherapy is 17.9 months.
     
  • Objective response rate (ORR) for CPS ≥ 1 was 36% of which 5/53 were complete responders by investigator review and 34% of which 6/53 were complete responders by central review.
     
  • The published ORR for the overall population with CPS ≥ 1 when treated with standard of care pembrolizumab is 19%.
     
  • The treatment was well-tolerated with 13.8% Grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), 1 Grade 4 event one year after PDS0101 therapy, and no Grade 5 TRAEs.
     
  • The published safety profile for the overall population with CPS ≥ 1 when treated with standard of care pembrolizumab reports 17% Grade ≥ 3 TRAEs2.
     

VERSATILE-002 was an open-label, non-randomized phase 2 trial performed at twenty-six oncology centers across the US, UK and Ireland. Eighty-eight patients with histologically confirmed R/M HPV16-positive diseases were enrolled in the study; 87 received treatment and comprised the safety population; 75 were in the modified Intention-to-Treat (mITT) population used for efficacy analyses: 53 ICI-naïve with PD-L1 CPS ≥1, 22 ICI-resistant (Mean age = 64.5 years, 94.7% male, 92.0% White).  

The trial was led by Dr. Jared Weiss, MD, of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, and was performed to determine the efficacy and safety of PDS0101, in combination with pembrolizumab in participants with HPV16-positive recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC), with separate evaluation of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-naïve and -resistant cohorts.

The Company recently announced the initial closing of a PIPE financing of up to $22.3 million led by Nant Capital, alongside an agreement granting NantWorks, LLC, an affiliate of Nant Capital, a one-year exclusive right to negotiate an exclusive license to PDS0101.