Instead of credible data, PDS Biotech delivers ‘results might get better, later’ promises

Tumor response rate is a common way to assess the efficacy of a cancer drug. It’s not a perfect measure, for sure, but it’s easy to calculate and understand — or it should be.

PDS Biotech is a small developer of cancer drugs that is zealously seeking investor eyeballs, yet it can’t seem to grasp the tumor-response concept. Its disclosures have been opaque and confusing — and I suspect, that’s on purpose.

The company’s drug, called PDS0101, is designed to recruit T cells to attack tumors caused by the human papilloma virus, or HPV. PDS Biotech believes the immune response generated by PDS0101 makes currently approved immunotherapies more effective without added toxicity, so it’s developing combination regimens, starting with HPV-positive head and neck cancer.

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