Tests STX-003 alone or with pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors
Tests the STX-003 injection, alone or with pembrolizumab, in adults with advanced solid tumors.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Strand Therapeutics Inc.
- Where
- Wollstonecraft, AustraliaSee the siteAlso in 1 other country, 3 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Phase 1/2 Study of Intravenous Injection of STX-003 in Advanced Solid Tumors as Monotherapy or in Combination With Pembrolizumab
- Status
- Recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 1/2
- People taking part
- 220 people, planned
- Started
- 30 Jun 2026
- Expected to end
- 15 Nov 2030
- Type of study
- Interventional, 4 groups
- Treatments tested
- STX-003
- KEYTRUDA®
- Record updated
- 27 October 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with advanced or metastatic solid tumors, mainly melanoma of the skin or PD-L1-positive lung cancer, who can have STX-003 alone or with pembrolizumab.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- All sexes can join
- Disease stage
- Locally advanced or metastatic solid tumor with at least one measurable lesion. Phase 2: lung cancer (NSCLC) that cannot be treated with surgery or radiation, or advanced skin melanoma. Acral, mucosal and uveal melanoma are not included. Good daily function (ECOG 0 or 1).
- Earlier treatment
- No curative treatment available, or the disease progressed despite standard treatment, or the person refused it. Phase 2 lung cancer: earlier platinum-based treatment and a PD-1/L1 checkpoint inhibitor. Phase 2 melanoma: earlier PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor with resistance, and a BRAF inhibitor if BRAF V600E mutation. Exceptions apply if treatment cannot be tolerated.
- Biomarker or test result
- Phase 2 lung cancer: PD-L1 positive. People with EGFR, STK11 or KEAP1 mutations, or ALK/ROS1 fusions, cannot join.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Known HIV infection, active hepatitis B or hepatitis C
- Untreated brain or other central nervous system tumor or metastasis
- History of primary immune deficiency or recent autoimmune disease needing treatment
- Solid organ transplant while taking immunosuppressive medicines
- Pregnant, breast-feeding or planning pregnancy within 6 months after treatment
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 21 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Inclusion Criteria (Phase 1 and Phase 2); Mentally competent and able to understand and sign the ICF; Tumor type for which there is an FDA-approved anti-PD-1/L1 antibody therapy, specifically including biomarker labeled subsets (i.e. PD-L1+) as well as anatomical subsets in some disease (cutaneous melanoma is eligible whereas acral, mucosal and uveal are not; Phase 1) and advanced cutaneous melanoma or PD-L1+ NSCLC; Histologically or cytologically documented, locally advanced, or metastatic solid tumor; At least one measurable lesion per RECIST v1.1 criteria; The patient lacks a curative therapy or has progressive disease despite, or refused, standard therapy; ECOG performance status of 0 or 1; Life expectancy of ≥ 12 weeks per the Investigator; ≥ 18 years of age at the time of informed consent; Body weight ≥ 40 kg; WOCBP and males with female partners of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate birth control throughout their participation and for 3 months following the last dose of STX-003; Willing and able to comply with protocol required assessments; Hematology:
- ANC ≥ 1,000 cells/mm3
- Platelet count ≥ 75,000 cells/mm3
- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL; Renal: Serum creatinine < 1.5 × ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 40 mL/min based on the Cockcroft-Gault glomerular filtration rate estimation; Coagulation:
- PT/INR or PT must be ≤ 1.5 × ULN
- aPTT ≤ 1.5 × ULN unless undergoing anticoagulation therapy; Liver:
- Albumin ≥ 3.5 g/dL or within the normal range of the local reference laboratory
- AST and ALT < 2 × ULN
- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN (except participants with documented Gilbert's syndrome who may be enrolled if the conjugated bilirubin is within normal limits) or ≤ 5 × ULN with liver metastases; Phase 2 Inclusion Criteria
- NSCLC :
- Histologically or cytologically documented findings consistent with NSCLC not amenable to curative surgery, radiation, or other therapy
- Biomarker confirmed as PD-L1+ per local institutional standard practice
- Patients with known activating EGFR, STK11 or KEAP1 mutations as well as ALK/ROS1 fusions, are not eligible
- Prior treatment (for advanced, metastatic or [neo]adjuvant) should have included a platinum-based therapy and a PD-1/L1 pathway checkpoint inhibitor, unless the patient is not a candidate for or has refused viable therapies due to inability to tolerate treatment (i.e. cell therapy) or potential side effects (i.e. checkpoint inhibitor toxicity); Melanoma : Histologically or cytologically documented findings consistent with advanced cutaneous melanoma not amenable to curative surgery, radiation, or other therapy. Acral, mucosal and uveal melanoma are excluded
- Patients who are not candidates for or have refused available therapies due to inability to tolerate treatment (i.e. cell therapy) or potential side effects (i.e. checkpoint inhibitor toxicity) are also eligible
- Received an anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor as monotherapy or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 inhibitor and have either primary or secondary checkpoint inhibitor resistance asper SITC consensus definition, unless deemed intolerable by the Investigator. Patients with BRAF V600E mutant melanoma should have received a BRAF inhibitor as monotherapy or in combination with other targeted agents (MAPK kinase MEK inhibitors), unless deemed intolerable by the Investigator
Who cannot take part
- Exclusion Criteria (Phase 1 and 2); Medical Conditions; History of primary immune deficiency; History of clinically significant autoimmune disease that has required intervention in the last 6 months. Consultation with the MM may inform the discussion of whether autoimmune disease is clinically significant; History of Grade 3 or higher IRAEs that has not resolved to Grade ≤ 1 at the time of enrollment. Exceptions include endocrine disorders that are well-managed with stable physiological hormone replacement and Grade 3 immune-related rash. Patients meeting this criterion may be considered for enrollment following approval by the MM; History of solid organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive medications; Cardiovascular exclusions; Medical history of an arterial thrombotic event, stroke, or transient ischemic attack within the past 6 months; Medical history of symptomatic congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association classes II-IV) or a cardiac arrhythmia that required treatment within the past 6 months; Medical history of myocardial infarction or unstable angina within 6 months before C1D1; Recent medical concerns exclusions; Evidence of active infection requiring IV antibiotics within 7 days prior to C1D1; Active uncontrolled bleeding, or a bleeding diathesis within 7 days prior to C1D1; Serious or non-healing wound, fistula, skin ulcer, or non-healing bone fracture within 7 days prior to C1D1; Known HIV infection, active hepatitis B infection, or hepatitis C infection:
- History of interstitial lung disease or active, non-infectious pneumonitis (combination cohorts only)
- Known psychiatric or substance use disorder that would interfere with the patient's ability to cooperate with the requirements of the study
- Virology evaluation should be conducted at Screening to include serum HIV antibody, HBc antibody, HBsAg antigen, and HCV antibody. Patients with a positive antibody evaluation for HCV and/or HBc should undergo evaluation to measure HCV RNA or HBV DNA, respectively; Untreated CNS tumor, epidural tumor or metastasis, or brain metastasis. Patients with any primary CNS malignancy including glioma and current, active, or progressing CNS malignancy, including carcinomatosis meningitis, are excluded; Patients with treated brain metastases are eligible if there is no evidence of progression for at least 4 weeks after CNS-directed treatment, as ascertained by clinical examination and brain imaging (MRI or CT scan) during the Screening period and are off systemic steroids (for at least 2 weeks prior to first dose); Another primary malignancy that has not been treated with curative intent (discuss with MM), except for non-metastatic cutaneous basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma, or non-muscle invasive bladder cancer; Serious illness considered by the Investigator as incompatible with participating in this clinical study; Major surgery within 4 weeks of first dose of study drug; Any condition that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would interfere with evaluation of the investigational product or interpretation of the patients' safety or study results; Prior/Concomitant Therapy; Prior treatment with STX-003 or other VEEV-based replicating RNA; Prior IL-12 therapy; Receipt of any live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of study treatment; Use of another systemic anticancer therapy within 3 weeks prior to C1D1 or 5 halflives, whichever is shorter or use of radiotherapy within 1 week prior to C1D1 5. Prior/Concurrent Clinical Study Experience; Previously enrolled in this study; Actively enrolled in another clinical study unless it is an observational (noninterventional) clinical study or the follow-up component of an interventional study; Known severe hypersensitivity (Grade ≥ 3) to study treatment or any of the excipients of the products; Other Exclusions
- Currently pregnant (confirmed with a positive pregnancy test), breast-feeding or planning to become pregnant within 6 months following treatment. For WOCBP, a negative serum β-HCG result must be available within a 72-hour window before the first treatment dose
Where in Australia
Also in 1 other country, 3 sites
- Melanoma Institute AustraliaWollstonecraft, AustraliaContact: Georgina Long, AO, BSc (Hons1, UM), PhD, MBBSTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Protocol Title: Phase 1/2, Open-label, Multi-center, First-in-human Study of the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Anti-tumor Activity of STX-003 Delivered by Intravenous Injection in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors as a Monotherapy or in Combination with Pembrolizumab.
Read full original descriptionShow less
Protocol Name: ASCENT-1: Activated, Selective, Controlled Expression of a Novel Programmable mRNA Therapeutic
The 4 groups in the trial
- Phase 1 MonotherapyTreatment being tested
STX-003 administered intravenously, at ascending doses across sequential cohorts, once per cycle for up to 35 cycles (approximately 24 months).
Treatment: STX-003
- Phase 1 Combination (STX-003 with Pembrolizumab)Treatment being tested
STX-003 administered intravenously, at ascending doses across sequential cohorts, once per cycle in combination with pembrolizumab for up to 35 cycles (approximately 24 months).
Treatment: STX-003 and KEYTRUDA®
- Phase 2 Monotherapy (STX-003)Treatment being tested
STX-003 administered intravenously, at 4 planned dose expansion cohorts in patients with advanced cancers with high unmet need, once per cycle for up to 35 cycles (approximately 24 months).
Treatment: STX-003
- Phase 2 Combination (STX-003 with Pembrolizumab)Treatment being tested
STX-003 administered intravenously, at 4 planned dose expansion cohorts in patients with advanced cancers with high unmet need, once per cycle for up to 35 cycles (approximately 24 months).
Treatment: STX-003 and KEYTRUDA®
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- A Phase 1/2, Open-label, Multi-center, First-in-human Study of the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Antitumor Activity of STX-003 Delivered Intravenously in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors as a Monotherapy or in Combination With Pembrolizumab
- Plain-language title
- Tests STX-003 alone or with pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumorsGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 13 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 27 October 2026