Intratumoral PH-762 for Cutaneous Carcinoma

February 9, 2026 updated by: Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Dose Escalation Study of Neoadjuvant Intratumoral PH-762 for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Melanoma, or Merkel Cell Carcinoma

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of intratumoral injections of PH-762 in squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinomas of the skin, to understand what the body does to the PH-762, and to observe how the tumor responds to the drug. Participants will receive four injections of PH-762 at weekly intervals, into a single tumor, followed by surgical removal of the tumor approximately two weeks later.

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

PH-762 is a potent RNAi molecule targeting PD-1. PH-762 can inhibit the immune checkpoint PD-1 in the tumor and thereby impede tumor growth. As a preoperative therapy, it may decrease the lesion size and has the potential to improve surgical morbidity. Intratumoral immunotherapy aims to use the tumor as a 'self-vaccine'. The local immune stimulation can induce robust priming of an anti-tumor immune response while generating systemic (abscopal) tumor responses, mediated by properly activated anti-tumor immune cells in the circulation. Local delivery of immunotherapy is expected to minimize systemic exposure and off-target toxicities.

This is a non-comparative study of neoadjuvant monotherapy using PD-1 targeting self-delivering RNAi (PH-762) in adult subjects with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinoma. The study treatment consists of four intratumoral injections of PH-762 at weekly intervals, into a single tumor lesion. Excision of the tumor will occur approximately two weeks following the fourth dose of IT PH-762, and the subjects will be followed for an additional 11 weeks.

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 (Estimated)

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.
30

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 1

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arizona
      • Gilbert, Arizona, United States, 85234
        • Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
    • California
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92108
        • Paradigm Clinical Research
    • Florida
      • Delray Beach, Florida, United States, 33445
        • Integrity Research
    • Nevada
      • Reno, Nevada, United States, 89509
        • Skin Cancer and Dermatology Institute
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43213
        • Centricity Research

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

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically confirmed cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinoma, meeting one of the following criteria:

    • cSCC, resectable local tumors: must be Stage II or lower, amenable to curative resection and in a location where acceptable surgical margins are anticipated
    • cSCC, unresectable local tumors: must be Stage II or lower, tumor has been unresponsive to prior radiation therapy or is not a candidate for curative radiation therapy
    • cSCC, metastatic disease: disease has progressed during or following prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy (anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody)
    • Melanoma, metastatic disease: Stage IV disease with a cutaneous lesion that has progressed during or following checkpoint inhibitor therapy (anti-PD-1/-PD-L1), and if BRAF-mutation is present, has progressed during or following prior treatment with anti-BRAF + MEK therapy
    • Merkel cell carcinoma, metastatic disease: Stage IV disease with a cutaneous lesion that has progressed during or following checkpoint inhibitor therapy (anti-PD-1/PD-L1)
  • A minimum of one tumor of ≥ 1.0 cm and < 3.0 cm in longest dimension that is accessible (with or without imaging guidance) for intratumoral injection and for biopsy and surgical excision must be present. The tumor is not necrotic, hemorrhagic, or friable, and is not within 2 cm of the eye or within 0.5 cm of or on the lip (including the vermilion border) and is not in a mucosal or visceral location.

Key Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other malignancy within prior 3 years, with certain exceptions.
  • Current cancer chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or biologic therapy.
  • Any serious or uncontrolled medical disorder including auto-immune disease that may increase the risk associated with study participation or study drug administration, or interfere with the interpretation of study results.
  • Females who are pregnant or are breastfeeding.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Sequential escalating doses of PH-762.
Escalating doses of PH-762 are to be tested, with an observation period between doses.
Drug: PH-762
PH-762 is a potent RNAi molecule targeting PD-1.

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
Adverse Events
Time Frame: 16 weeks
Incidence, severity, seriousness and relatedness of all treatment-emergent adverse events.
16 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
Pharmacokinetics: maximum plasma concentration (Cmax)
Time Frame: 3.5 weeks
Maximum concentration of PH-762 following intratumoral injection.
3.5 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax)
Time Frame: 3.5 weeks
Time to maximum concentration of PH-762 following intratumoral injection.
3.5 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: area under the curve to last quantifiable plasma concentration (AUClast)
Time Frame: 3.5 weeks
Exposure to PH-762 through last quantifiable concentration following intratumoral injection.
3.5 weeks
Pathologic response
Time Frame: 5 weeks
Pathological response will be assessed by relative amount of viable tumor in resection specimens of the treated lesion.
5 weeks
Tumor burden
Time Frame: 5 weeks
Change in tumor burden will be assessed per RECIST/ iRECIST guidelines for the treated lesion.
5 weeks

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.
Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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.
Prosoft Clinical

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.
  • Study Director: Linda Mahoney, Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
November 7, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

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.
December 29, 2025

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.
March 1, 2026

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).
August 22, 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.
August 25, 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.
August 28, 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.
February 11, 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.
February 9, 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.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • PHIO-762-2301

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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