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DUBLIN, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alkermes plc (Nasdaq: ALKS) today announced plans to present a poster related to nemvaleukin alfa (nemvaleukin), the company's novel, investigational, engineered interleukin-2 (IL-2) variant immunotherapy, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting, taking place Nov. 10-14, 2021. The poster will include data from the ION-01 study, a phase 2 trial evaluating intravenous nemvaleukin in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that had previously progressed on an anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.  

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Abstract: 432
Title: Nemvaleukin alfa, a novel engineered IL-2 cytokine, in combination with the anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (ION-01 study)
Presenter: Brian Gastman, M.D., Surgical Director, Melanoma & High-Risk Skin Cancer Program at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
Presentation Date: The poster and presentation will be available on the SITC virtual meeting platform beginning Nov. 12, 2021. The poster is scheduled to be presented onsite at the meeting on Nov. 13, 2021.

About Nemvaleukin Alfa ("nemvaleukin")
Nemvaleukin is an investigational, novel, engineered fusion protein comprised of modified interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the high affinity IL-2 alpha receptor chain, designed to preferentially expand tumor-killing immune cells while avoiding the activation of immunosuppressive cells by selectively binding to the intermediate-affinity IL-2 receptor complex. The selectivity of nemvaleukin is designed to leverage the proven anti-tumor effects of existing IL-2 therapy while mitigating certain limitations.

About the Nemvaleukin Clinical Development Program 
ARTISTRY is an Alkermes-sponsored clinical development program evaluating nemvaleukin as a potential immunotherapy for cancer. The ARTISTRY program is comprised of multiple clinical trials evaluating intravenous and subcutaneous dosing of nemvaleukin, both as a monotherapy and in combination with the anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA^® (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced solid tumors. Ongoing trials in the ARTISTRY program include: ARTISTRY-1, ARTISTRY-2, ARTISTRY-3, ARTISTRY-6 and ARTISTRY-7.

ION-01 is a phase 2 trial being conducted in collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and is designed to estimate the response rate to intravenous nemvaleukin in combination with the anti-PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab in patients with advanced or recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who did not achieve complete remission with an anti-PD-(L)1 antibody treatment.

About Alkermes plc
Alkermes plc is a fully-integrated, global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines in the fields of neuroscience and oncology. The company has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products focused on addiction, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, and a pipeline of product candidates in development for neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes plc has an R&D center in Waltham, Massachusetts; a research and manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland; and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio. For more information, please visit Alkermes' website at www.alkermes.com.

KEYTRUDA^® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.

Alkermes Contacts:
For Investors: Sandy Coombs, +1 781 609 6377
For Media: Sourojit Bhowmick, Ph.D., +1 781 609 6397

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SOURCE Alkermes plc