Immunophotonics to present Phase 1b/2a IP-001 data at ASCO 2026

By AI, Created 11:48 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Immunophotonics will present data from its multi-center Phase 1b/2a trial of IP-001 at the 2026 ASCO annual meeting on May 30. The study tested intratumoral IP-001 after thermal ablation in advanced solid tumors and found the treatment was well tolerated with early signs of immune activity.

Why it matters: - IP-001 is designed to turn local tumor ablation into a broader immune response, which could matter for patients whose cancer may leave behind circulating tumor cells or micrometastases. - The Phase 1b/2a data add early clinical evidence for an approach meant to extend the impact of standard tumor ablation beyond the treated lesion.

What happened: - Immunophotonics said data from its multi-center Phase 1b/2a trial of IP-001 will be presented on May 30, 2026, in a poster session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago. - Markus Joerger, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Clinical Research Facility, Department of Medical Oncology & Hematology at Health Ostschweiz in St. Gallen, Switzerland, will present the poster. - The poster covers SAKK 66/17, an investigator-initiated trial sponsored by the Swiss Cancer Institute. - The study evaluated intratumoral IP-001 after thermal ablation in patients with advanced solid tumors.

The details: - The trial title is “Intratumoral Injection of IP-001 following Thermal Ablation in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors: A Multi-Center Phase 1b/2a Trial with Expansion Cohorts in Melanoma and Soft Tissue Sarcoma (SAKK 66/17).” - The study assessed safety, tolerability and preliminary activity of intratumoral IP-001 following laser ablation. - The trial ran across multiple centers in Switzerland. - Expansion cohorts included melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma. - Most participants had already received extensive prior therapy, including immunotherapy. - Joerger said the results suggest IP-001 is well tolerated, with mainly mild, transient immune-related events. - Joerger said the combination of IP-001 and thermal ablation may warrant further study in selected patients with advanced solid tumors. - Robert H. Arch, Ph.D., president of Immunophotonics, said the results reinforce IP-001’s potential to enhance tumor-specific immune responses after standard-of-care tumor ablative techniques.

Between the lines: - The company is still in an early proof-of-concept phase, so the key question is whether the immune effects seen in this trial can translate into better clinical outcomes in larger studies. - The strategy centers on using local tissue destruction to expose tumor antigens, then amplifying the immune system’s response so treatment can reach cancer cells elsewhere in the body. - A presentation at ASCO gives Immunophotonics a high-visibility venue to position IP-001 within the broader immuno-oncology field.

What’s next: - Immunophotonics said it remains committed to advancing IP-001 through clinical development with partners. - The company aims to establish proof-of-concept and expand the therapy’s potential in advanced solid tumors. - Further studies would need to clarify whether the early safety and immune-response signals translate into durable patient benefit.

The bottom line: - IP-001 is emerging as a potential add-on to tumor ablation, with early trial data suggesting it can be delivered safely and may help trigger a systemic anti-cancer immune response.