GB1211 and Pembrolizumab Versus Pembrolizumab and Placebo in Patients With Metastatic Melanoma and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

September 14, 2026 updated by: Providence Health & Services

Randomized Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Phase II Study of a Galectin-3 Inhibitor (GB1211) and Pembrolizumab Versus Pembrolizumab and Placebo in Patients With Metastatic Melanoma and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The purpose of this study is to determine the objective response of GB1211 and pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab and placebo in patients with advance metastatic melanoma or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Eligible patients will be registered, stratified by diagnosis (melanoma versus oral, head and neck (OHN) cancer), and the number of prior systemic therapies, and randomized to receive either GB1211 + pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab + placebo.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
12

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97213
        • Providence Portland Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma including unknown primary or mucosal melanomas. Histological confirmation of melanoma will be required by previous biopsy or cytology. Patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with disease progression during or after platinum-containing chemotherapy are eligible. PD-L1 testing is not needed for OHN cancers.
  • Patients who have received anti-PD1 or anti-PD-L1 in the past are eligible if it has been at least 6 months since the last anti-PD-1 or PD-L1 dose, they meet all other eligibility criteria and progression of malignancy has been documented on imaging. Progression for this patient subset is defined as the appearance of one or more new metastatic sites, or a 5% or greater increase in the sum of diameter of target lesions or an unequivocal increase in non-target site. Treatment naïve melanoma patients are eligible.
  • Patients must be ≥ 18 years of age.
  • ECOG performance status of 0-2.
  • Women of childbearing potential must have a serum or urine pregnancy test performed within 72 hours prior to the start of protocol treatment. The results of this test must be negative in order for the patient to be eligible. In addition, women of childbearing potential as well as male patients must agree to take appropriate precautions to avoid pregnancy.
  • No active bleeding.
  • Anticipated lifespan greater than 12 weeks.
  • Patients must sign a study-specific consent document.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have previously received a galectin antagonist.
  • Patients with active autoimmune disease except for autoimmune thyroiditis or vitiligo.
  • Patients with history of autoimmune colitis.
  • Patients with untreated brain metastases. Patients with treated brain metastases who demonstrate control of brain metastases with follow-up imaging 4 or more weeks after initial therapy are eligible.
  • Patients requiring other systemic oncologic therapy, including experimental therapies.
  • Patients who have received anti-cancer treatment within 3 weeks or 5 half-lives before first study drug dose.
  • Patients with Child-Pugh C hepatic impairment.
  • Patients with active infection requiring antibiotics.
  • Pregnant or lactating women, as treatment involves unforeseeable risks to the embryo or fetus.
  • Need for steroids at greater than physiologic replacement doses. Inhaled corticosteroids are acceptable.

  • Laboratory exclusions (to be performed within 28 days of enrollment):

    • WBC < 3.0 x 109/L
    • Hgb < 9.0 g/dL
    • AST or ALT > 1.5 times ULN
    • Total bilirubin > 1.9 g/dL, unless due to Gilbert's Syndrome. If Gilbert's Syndrome is present by clinical history, then direct bilirubin must by < 3.0 g/dl.
    • Active or known history of HIV
    • Active or known history of Hepatitis B
    • Active or known history of Hepatitis C
    • Platelet counts < 100 x 10E9 / L (100,000/ μL) without transfusion
    • INR > 1.5x ULN
  • Inability to give informed consent and comply with the protocol. Patients must be judged able to understand fully the investigational nature of the study and the risks associated with the therapy.
  • Any medical condition that in the opinion of the Principal Investigator would compromise the safety or conduct of the study procedures.
  • Unresolved immune-mediated pneumonitis, diarrhea, elevation of hepatocellular enzymes or other toxicities requiring greater than physiological replacement doses of steroids.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: GB1211 + Pembrolizumab
GB1211 will be administered orally twice a day at 400mg in combination with standard pembrolizumab treatment.
Drug: Pembrolizumab
Administered at a fixed dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks intravenously.
Other Names:
  • Keytruda
Drug: GB1211
Administered orally twice daily at 100mg.
Placebo Comparator: Pembrolizumab Monotherapy
Placebo will have the same appearance as GB1211 and administered orally twice a day in combination with standard pembrolizumab treatment.
Drug: Pembrolizumab
Administered at a fixed dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks intravenously.
Other Names:
  • Keytruda
Drug: Placebo
Administered orally twice daily at 100mg.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall response rate based on disease imaging
Time Frame: From the date of randomization until the date of first documented progression, assessed up to 63 weeks.
Determine the response of Gal-3 inhibitor and pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy (plus placebo) in patients with metastatic melanoma or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
From the date of randomization until the date of first documented progression, assessed up to 63 weeks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of GAL-3 Expression
Time Frame: Screening and Day 68
Compare Gal-3 expression in paired biopsies after GB1211 + pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab monotherapy
Screening and Day 68
Frequency of Immune-mediated Adverse Events
Time Frame: From the time of informed consent to week 63
Compare the frequency of immune-mediated adverse events after GB1211 + pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab + placebo
From the time of informed consent to week 63
Evaluation of Antiviral Immunity
Time Frame: Day 85
Assess the biological activity of GB1211 + pembrolizumab and in comparison to pembrolizumab monotherapy by measuring CD4+T cells with a memory phenotype (CD3+CD4+Ki67+CD25+FoxP3-CCR7-CD45RA-CD27+CD28+/-).
Day 85
Evaluation of Antiviral Immunity
Time Frame: Day 85
Assess the biological activity of GB1211 + pembrolizumab and in comparison to pembrolizumab monotherapy by measuring CD8+ T cells with effector phenotype (CD3+CD8+CD28-CD95+).
Day 85
Evaluation of Antiviral Immunity
Time Frame: Day 85
Assess the biological activity of GB1211 + pembrolizumab and in comparison to pembrolizumab monotherapy by measuring tumor-specific T cells using autologous and/or HLA-matched tumor when available.
Day 85
Evaluation of Predictive Biomarker
Time Frame: Day 85
Characterize myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) expression over time as a predictive biomarker of response after GB1211 + pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab monotherapy
Day 85

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Providence Health & Services

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Providence Cancer Center, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
Galecto Biotech AB
Providence Cancer Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Brendan D. Curti, MD, Providence Health & Services

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 29, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 6, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 19, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 22, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2023000353

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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