ZymoGenetics has revealed the results of its Phase IIa clinical trial of recombinant Interleukin 21 (IL-21) for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.

IL-21 is a cytokine that works by activating the body’s immune cells to eliminate virally infected or cancerous cells from the body.

The single-arm, open-label and multicentre study was conducted in Canada and enrolled 40 patients with Stage 4 melanoma, who were given three dosing regimens of IL-21.

The study showed that the median overall survival was 12.4 months, with 53% of the patients surviving at 12 months.

The overall response rate in 39 evaluable patients was 23%, and the median progression-free survival was 4.3 months.