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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03598608

Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of a Combination of Favezelimab (MK-4280) and Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in Participants With Hematologic Malignancies (MK-4280-003)

This study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of favezelimab (MK-4280) in combination with pembrolizumab (MK-3475) using a non-randomized study design in participants with the following hematological malignancies:

* classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) * diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) * indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL)

This study will also evaluate the safety and efficacy of pembrolizumab or favezelimab administered as monotherapy in participants with cHL using a 1:1 randomized study design.

The study will have 2 phases: a safety lead-in and an efficacy expansion phase. The recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) will be determined in the safety lead-in phase by evaluating dose-limiting toxicities.

There is no primary hypothesis for this study.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 1 / Phase 2

Primary location

Concord Repatriation & General Hospital ( Site 0203), Concord, New South Wales, Australia

Loading trial locations.

About this study

Per protocol amendment 7, the secondary serum concentration endpoints were removed and will not be reported.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Has measurable disease, defined as ≥1 lesion that can be accurately measured in 2 dimensions with diagnostic quality cross sectional anatomic imaging (computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging). Minimum measurement must be >15 mm in the longest diameter or >10 mm in the short axis
  • Is able to provide a core or excisional tumor biopsy for biomarker analysis from an archival (within 3 months) or newly obtained biopsy at screening
  • Has a performance status of 0 or 1 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)

Exclusion criteria

  • Has known clinically active central nervous system (CNS) involvement
  • Has received prior therapy with an anti-lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) antibody
  • Has received chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-T-cell therapy for cHL and DLBCL Cohorts
  • Has received prior anticancer therapy or thoracic radiation therapy within 14 days before the first dose of study treatment
  • Has ≥Grade 2 non-hematological residual toxicities from prior therapy
  • Has had a prior anticancer monoclonal antibody within 4 weeks prior to study Day 1 or who has not recovered (i.e., ≤Grade 1 or at baseline) from AEs due to agents administered ≥4 weeks earlier
  • Has received a live vaccine within 30 days prior to first dose of study treatment. Administration of killed vaccines are allowed
  • Has received an investigational agent or used an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to intervention administration
  • Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior the first dose of study drug
  • Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment with the exception of basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or in situ cervical cancer that has undergone potentially curative therapy
  • Has active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in past 2 years (i.e., with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs)
  • Has a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that required steroids or current pneumonitis
  • Has an active infection requiring intravenous systemic therapy
  • Has a known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
  • Has known, active hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection
  • Is pregnant or breastfeeding, or expecting to conceive or father children within the projected duration of the study, starting with the screening visit through 120 days after the last dose of study treatment
  • Has had an allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell/solid organ transplantation within the last 5 years

Treatment and study plan

Pembrolizumab

Biological

Administered as an IV infusion every 3 weeks (Q3W)

Other names: KEYTRUDA®, MK-3475

Favezelimab

Biological

Administered as an IV infusion Q3W

Other names: MK-4280

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Participants Experiencing a Dose-limiting Toxicity (DLT)

    Time frame: Cycle 1 (up to 21 days)

    DLT will be defined as any drug-related adverse event (AE) observed during the DLT evaluation period (Cycle 1) that results in a change to a given dose or a delay in initiating the next cycle and reported as the percentage of participants experiencing a DLT defined by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology for Adverse Events version 4.0.

  2. Percentage of Participants Experiencing an Adverse Event (AE)

    Time frame: From time of signing informed consent form (ICF) until the end of follow-up (up to approximately 27 months)

    Percentage of participants experiencing an AE defined as any unfavorable and unintended sign, symptom, disease, or worsening of preexisting condition temporally associated with study therapy and irrespective of causality to study treatment

  3. Percentage of Participants with Treatment Discontinuations Due to an AE

    Time frame: From time of signing informed consent form (ICF) until the end of study treatment (up to approximately 24 months)

    Percentage of participants discontinuing study treatment due to an AE

Secondary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    Time frame: Up to approximately 24 months

    ORR is defined as the percentage of participants in the analysis population who had a Complete Response or a Partial Response per lymphoma disease response criteria (Cheson et. al., 2007) as assessed by the investigator.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

A Phase 1/Phase 2 Clinical Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of a Combination of MK-4280 and Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in Participants With Hematologic Malignancies

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jul 26, 2018
Registry last updated
Feb 5, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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