GC said Wednesday that it has presented the preclinical trial results of MG1124, an immunotherapy candidate for lung cancer, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held in Atlanta, Ga.

MG1124 inhibits the function of carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1), a protein that simultaneously expresses cancer cells and immune cells and inhibits immune cell activity. According to the company, MG1124 is the only anticancer drug in development to inhibit CEACAM1 worldwide.

In the preclinical trial, the GC identified a significantly higher tumor suppression rate in the MG1124 treated group than in the control group, which used immune avatar model (humanized mouse) derived from various lung cancer patients. Also, in some experimental groups with high expression of CEACAM1, tumor suppression rate was superior to that of conventional immunotherapy.

The company also confirmed synergistic effects when it co-administered with existing immunotherapeutic drugs, which has raised the possibility of the drug as a concomitant drug.

“The results of this study are significant as commercialized immunotherapeutic agents have limited efficacy only in about 20 percent of lung cancer patients,” said Professor Cho Byung-chul of the department of oncology at Severance Hospital and lead researcher of the study. “Also, as we confirmed the possibility of a combination treatment that uses MG1124 and existing immunotherapeutic drugs, we plan to accelerate the research and development process.”