Novocure to Present New Preclinical Data Showing Additive Efficacy of Tumor Treating Fields and PD-1 Inhibitors at the American Association of Immunologists’ Annual Meeting 2016

ST. HELIER, Jersey–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR) will present new data at the American Association of Immunologists’ Annual Meeting on May 13-17, 2016, in Seattle showing that Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) in combination with PD-1 inhibitors led to additive efficacy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in vivo.

The results presented demonstrate that:

• TTFields exhibit treatment duration-dependent intrinsic cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. Longer periods of exposure to TTFields result in significant decreases in cancer cell counts and increases apoptotic events.
• The cellular response to TTFields is characterized by exposure of calreticulin on the cell surface, release of high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), and secretion of adenosine triphosphate – all of which are hallmark features of immunogenic cell death that can potentially generate a systemic anticancer immune response.
• The combined treatment of TTFields and anti-PD-1 (αPD-1) in an NSCLC in vivo model led to a significant decrease in tumor volume compared to sham controls and to anti-PD-1 alone.
• PD-L1, the ligand which binds PD-1 on immune cells, was maximized on the immune cells themselves in the combination treatment.

“Our research indicates that TTFields in combination with PD-1 immunotherapies may be another possible treatment paradigm for solid tumors that should be investigated clinically, particularly for those solid tumors whose standard of care currently includes – or is evolving to include – PD-1 immunotherapies,” said Dr. Eilon Kirson, Chief Science Officer and Head of Research and Development at Novocure. “We are excited to learn more about the potential benefits of combining TTFields with PD-1 immunotherapies in a variety of solid tumors.”

About Novocure

Novocure is a commercial-stage oncology company developing a novel, proprietary therapy called Tumor Treating Fields, or TTFields, for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. Headquartered in Jersey, Novocure has U.S. operations in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Malvern, Pennsylvania, and New York City. Additionally, the company has offices in Germany, Switzerland and Japan, and a research center in Haifa, Israel. For additional information about the company, please visit www.novocure.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/novocure.

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