A Study in People With Colorectal Cancer to Test Whether Ezabenlimab or Pembrolizumab in Combination With BI 765063 Lead to Side Effects or Delays in Surgery

A Phase I Open Label Study to Assess Safety, Feasibility, Efficacy, and Biological Activity of Single Administration of Neoadjuvant Treatments Ezabenlimab in Combination With BI 765063 and Pembrolizumab in Combination With BI 765063 in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Surgically-resectable, Locoregional Colorectal Cancer

This study is open to people with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer. People who are scheduled for surgery can participate. People either get a medicine called BI 765063 combined with ezabenlimab or combined with pembrolizumab in preparation of the upcoming surgery. The tested medicines in this study are antibodies that may help the immune system fight cancer.

The purpose of this study is to find out how well people with early colorectal cancer can tolerate treatment with these medicines. The study also looks at whether the tumor changes.

Participants are put into 2 groups. One group gets ezabenlimab and BI 765063. The other group gets pembrolizumab and BI 765063. All participants receive the study medicines as 2 subsequent infusions into a vein on a single day.

Participants are in the study for about 4 months. During this time, they visit the study site about 5 times. The doctors check the health of the participants and note any health problems that could have been caused by ezabenlimab, pembrolizumab, or BI 765063. The doctors also check whether these health problems lead to a delay of the planned surgery.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Colorectal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Ezabenlimab; Drug: Pembrolizumab; Drug: BI 765063

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 2
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10029
      • Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion criteria

• Signed and dated written informed consent in accordance with ICH-GCP and local legislation prior to admission to the trial. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent.
• Male or female aged = 18 years at the time of informed consent form (ICF) signature.
• Patients with histological diagnosis of resectable colorectal Cancer (CRC), or radiographic/visual findings highly suggestive, with planned confirmatory biopsy.
• CRC lesions must be at least 1 centimeter (cm) in largest diameter and amenable to endoscopic biopsy.
• Patient must be willing and able to have endoscopic biopsy (Goal 3-6 core-needle or surgical/endoscopic biopsies, final number to be determined by the physician performing the procedure as safe) of tumor prior to initiation of therapy.
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1. The exception will be patients with long term disability (such as cerebral palsy) that is unlikely to significantly affect their response to therapy.
• Patient is determined to be a surgical candidate for resection of their tumor.
• Adequate organ and marrow function as defined in the protocol.
• Further inclusion criteria apply.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who are deemed to be at high risk for colonic obstruction and/or perforation per investigator assessment.
• Patients eligible for neoadjuvant therapy (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy) as standard of care.
• Major surgery (major according to the investigator's assessment) performed within 4 weeks prior to administration of trial medication.
• Patients who must or wish to continue the intake of restricted medications (as defined in the protocol) or any drug considered likely to interfere with the safe conduct of the trial.
• Patients not expected to comply with the protocol requirements or not expected to complete the trial as scheduled (e.g. chronic alcohol or drug abuse or any other condition that, in the investigator's opinion, makes the patient an unreliable trial participant).
• Previous enrolment in this trial.
• Currently enrolled in another investigational device or drug trial, or less than 30 days since ending another investigational device or drug trial(s) or receiving other investigational treatment(s).
• Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 6 months prior to entering the study for a different primary tumor, or those that have received locoregional therapy (radiation, chemoembolization, etc.) for the target lesion that will be biopsied and subsequently resected. Previous therapy for a different cancer (a different primary) is acceptable.
• Prior immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
• Patients with metastatic or recurrent disease, for which the intent of surgery would not be curative.
• Further exclusion criteria apply

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cohort A: Ezabenlimab + BI 765063	Drug: Ezabenlimab; Ezabenlimab; Drug: BI 765063; BI 765063
Experimental: Cohort B: Pembrolizumab + BI 765063	Drug: Pembrolizumab; Pembrolizumab; Drug: BI 765063; BI 765063

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Composite Endpoint: Proportion of Patients With at Least One Occurrence of a Safety or Feasibility Event	Safety: A safety event was defined as any grade 3 or higher adverse events (AEs; according to National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [CTCAE] version 5.0) related to study treatments at any point within the follow-up period following the administration of study treatments. Feasibility (delay in surgery): A feasibility event or delay in surgery was defined as any treatment related AE leading to delay in surgery, which was scheduled to take place between 2 weeks and up to 6 weeks following the study treatment administration will be considered as a relevant AE for this endpoint.	Up to 91 days after drug administration.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pathologic Response (PR)	At least 50% or more tumor regression classified as per Mandard tumor regression grading system, in viable adenocarcinoma cells in the surgical specimen, including lymph nodes. Pathological response includes complete pathology response (CR), near complete pathological response (near CR) and partial pathological response	Up to 91 days after drug administration.
Time From Administration of Trial Treatment to Surgery	Time from administration of trial treatment to surgery, defined as the time in days that elapses between administration of neoadjuvant trial therapy and surgical resection.	Up to 91 days after drug administration.
Radiographic Response Rate	Radiographic response on pre-surgical imaging, following receipt of the neoadjuvant therapy, as per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1). The same imaging procedure(s) (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging scan) were used throughout the trial.	Up to 91 days after drug administration.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Related Info

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 27, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 11, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): November 8, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 1, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 1, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): July 6, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 6, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Intestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Antineoplastic Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Pembrolizumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1502-0001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Clinical studies sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, phases I to IV, interventional and non-interventional, are in scope for sharing of the raw clinical study data and clinical study documents. Exceptions might apply, e.g. studies in products where Boehringer Ingelheim is not the license holder; studies regarding pharmaceutical formulations and associated analytical methods, and studies pertinent to pharmacokinetics using human biomaterials; studies conducted in a single center or targeting rare diseases (in case of low number of patients and therefore limitations with anonymization). For more details refer to: https:// www.mystudywindow.com/msw/datatransparency

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No