ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT03556228Updated Nov 4, 2026

VMD-928 Monotherapy and in Combination With Pembrolizumab to Treat TrkA Overexpression Driven Solid Tumors or Lymphoma

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of VMD-928 100 mg Tablet and VMD-928 Tablet and Pembrolizumab (200 mg) in Head and Neck Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and Lung Cancer, sponsored by VM Oncology, LLC. Recruiting at 13 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-04.

Sponsored by VM Oncology, LLC · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jun 2018; still recruiting 8 years 5 months later.
Updated Nov 4, 20262 sites removedGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
242
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a multicenter, open-label, Phase 1/2 study of orally administered VMD-928 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in adult subjects with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma that have progressed or are non responsive to available therapies and for which no standard or available curative therapy exists

Read the detailed description

This is an open-label, dose-escalation (Phase 1) and expansion (Phase 2) multi-center study conducted in five parts to identify the safe and pharmacologically active doses (MTD and/orRP2D) and regimen for oral VMD-928 monotherapy and in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor, pembrolizumab in cancer patients. An immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay specific for detecting TrkA protein in tumor tissue samples has been validated and is being used to detect TrkA protein expressions in patient tumor tissue samples at Pre-screening. The study is currently focusing on the top 5 solid tumor with the highest TrkA protein overexpression are: Head and Neck Cancers (HNC), Esophageal cancer, Lung cancers, Mesothelioma, and Pancreatic Cancer.

02

Conditions studied

  • Head and Neck Carcinoma
  • Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
  • Lung Cancer
  • Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Pancreatic Cancer
  • Mesothelioma
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Any Solid Tumors Progressed After a Prior Immunotherapy
  • Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
  • Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma HNSCC
  • Salivary Gland Carcinomas
  • Head and Neck Cancers - Salivary Gland
  • Head and Neck Cancers - Nasopharyngeal
  • Head and Neck Cancers - Throat
  • Small Cell Lung Cancer ( SCLC )
  • Lung Cancer (Locally Advanced or Metastatic)
  • Head and Neck Cancers - Tonsils
  • Head and Neck Cancers Hypopharynx
  • Head and Neck Cancers Larynx
  • Head and Neck Cancers Lip
  • Head and Neck Cancers Nasopharynx
  • Head and Neck Cancers Oral Cavity
  • Head and Neck Cancers
  • Head and Neck Cancers Oropharynx
  • Head and Neck Cancers Trachea

Keywords

  • TrkA
  • NTRK1
  • Head and Neck Carcinoma
  • Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma
  • Lung Cancer
  • Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • NSCLC
  • Mesothelioma
  • Pancreatic
  • Progression after anti PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy
  • Progressed after an immunotherapy
  • Esophageal
  • SCLC
  • ACC
  • HNSCC
  • Head and Neck Cancers
  • HNC
  • Salivary Gland Carcinoma
  • Nasopharyngeal
  • Throat
  • Tonsils
  • Hypopharynx
  • Larynx
  • Oral Cavity
  • Oropharynx
  • Trachea
03

In context

Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic

86 studies on the registry are indexed under Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic; 26 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 242 is above the median of 37 across 76 interventional studies indexed under Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic.

Browse Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with VM Oncology, LLC as lead sponsor.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

Key Inclusion Criteria:

#. or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of any type of solid tumor or lymphoma:

Phase 1 Dose Escalation only: Subjects with

(A) any advanced solid tumors of

  1. Head and Neck Cancers ("HNC") (of any types),
  2. Esophageal cancer,
  3. Lung cancers (of any types),
  4. Mesothelioma,
  5. Pancreatic cancers,

Or,

(B) any NTRK1 gene fusion positive ("NTRK1+") solid tumors or lymphomas, that is , refractory or intolerant (R/R/I) to standard of care (SOC) and for which there is no approved or curative therapy. Additionally, patients must not be candidates for or have exhausted regimens known to provide clinical benefit, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in lymphoma patients if they are deemed transplant eligible.

Phase 2 Monotherapy and Combination with Pembrolizumab only:

Subjects must have

  1. TrkA-driven HNC, Esophageal, Lung, Mesothelioma, Pancreatic cancers; or,
  2. any NTRK1+ solid tumors or lymphoma*, that is R/R/I to SOC.

Key Inclusion Criteria:

  • (ECOG) Performance Status: 0 or 1.
  • Able to swallow and retain oral medication.
  • Subjects must either have available samples, or consent to tumor tissue sampling prior to the first dose.
  • Adequate organ system function as defined as follows:

    1. ≥1.5x10\^9/L
    2. ≥9g/dL
    3. ≥100x10\^9/L
    4. , PTT ≤1.5xULN
    5. Total ≤1.5x
    6. , ALT ≤2.5xULN
    7. Creatinine ≤1.2xULN for age, weight
    8. Calculated or 24h urine creatinine clearance ≥60mL/min

Key Exclusion Criteria:

  • Received chemotherapy having delayed toxicity within the last 14 days (six weeks for prior nitrosourea or mitomycin C).
  • Received anticancer therapy with radiation, immunotherapy, and a biologic, surgery and/or tumor embolization within the past 2 weeks.
  • Received an anticancer drug within 14 days or 5 half-lives of the investigational agent, whichever is longer, prior to the first dose of VMD-928. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by the Sponsor Medical Monitor.
  • Unresolved toxicity from previous anticancer therapy \> Grade 1 (except alopecia or anemia) unless agreed to by both the Sponsor Medical Monitor and the Investigator.
  • Known active infections including disease.
  • Currently pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study.
  • interval ≥ 480 msec.
  • Class II, III, or IV heart failure as defined by the (NYHA) functional classification system.
  • Acute coronary syndromes (including unstable angina), coronary angioplasty, or stenting within the past 24 weeks.
  • Unstable or uncompensated respiratory, hepatic, renal, or cardiac disease that would compromise the patient's safety or interfere with assessment of the drug.
  • Psychological, familial, sociological, geographical, or other concurrent conditions that would interfere with safety evaluation, limit the patient's ability to follow the procedures in the protocol or otherwise jeopardize compliance with the protocol. Patients with uncontrolled major depression, bipolar disorder, or severe anxiety disorder are excluded.
  • Patient has had or is currently having other malignant tumors within 3 years.
  • Patients have multiple factors that affect their oral medication.
  • Patients have long-term unhealed wounds or fractures.
  • Patients have uncontrolled pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, or ascites that still require repeated drainage.
  • Patients are taking the following drugs and can't stop them during the study:

    • Tylenol or medicine containing acetaminophen (paracetamol).
    • Antacids (e.g. TUMS, calcium carbonate, or magnesium hydroxide), proton pump inhibitors (e.g. omeprazole), H2 blockers (e.g. famotidine), or buffered vitamins.
  • Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

For Phase 2 only:

  • Negative result on TrkA immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay.
  • Have visceral crisis, defined as severe organ dysfunction and rapid progression of the cancer. (It is not about presence of visceral .)

For combination therapy with Pembrolizumab only:

  • Serious adverse immune related adverse events (grade 3 or 4) with previous (L1) inhibitor therapy, that were symptomatic and required prolong (>6 weeks).
  • Any grade Pneumonitis and Myocarditis related to prior PD-1(L1) inhibitor therapy.
  • For subjects that received PD-1(L1) inhibitors before, there should be a of at least 21 days between the last day of PD-1(L1) inhibitor and first day of study medications.
  • Subjects who relapsed after prior treatment with PD-1(L1) inhibitors. Relapsed is defined as patients having best overall response of CR or PR after treatment with a PD-1(L1) inhibitor.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(22)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Relapsed and refractory

Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

CTCAE grade

The US National Cancer Institute’s scale of how severe an adverse event is — any unwanted medical event during a study, such as a symptom, an illness or an abnormal test result, whether or not a treatment caused it. Whether it did is judged separately.

1
Mild.
2
Moderate.
3
Severe.
4
Life-threatening.
5
Death due to the event.

“Side effects of earlier treatment resolved to grade 1 or less” means they have settled to mild or gone.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

QT and QTc

On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.

The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

PD-1, PD-L1 and checkpoint inhibitors

PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are proteins that act as brakes on the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab or nivolumab, block them so the immune system can attack a cancer.

PD-L1 can also be measured in a tumour sample. Some scores count stained tumour cells only (TPS); others also count certain immune cells (CPS). The study names the score and the minimum it uses.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Washout period

A planned gap after a treatment, so that its effects can lessen before the study treatment or a study assessment. Ask the study team and the doctor who prescribed it before changing any medicine.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
242 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    VMD-928 monotherapy

    VMD-928 tablet monotherapy

    Drug: VMD-928 100 mg Tablet

  • Experimental
    Combination Therapy

    VMD-928 tablet in combination with fixed dose of pembrolizumab 200 mg once-very-21-day (per cycle)

    Drug: VMD-928 Tablet and Pembrolizumab (200 mg)

Interventions

  • DrugVMD-928 100 mg Tablet

    Taken orally once daily for 21 days per 21-day cycle

    Also known as: Monotherapy

  • DrugVMD-928 Tablet and Pembrolizumab (200 mg)

    Drug page: Pembrolizumab

    VMD-928 tablet (oral) starting at 300 mg daily for 21 days of 21-day cycle. Pemprolizumab at fixed intravenous dose of 200 mg once-every-21 days (per cycle) for max. 6 cycles.

    Also known as: Combination therapy

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number and severity of treatment-emergent Adverse Events (Phase 1)

    TEAE

    Time frame: First cycle (21 days per cycle)

  2. To determine the recommended Phase 2 dose for VMD-928 (Phase 1)

    RP2D of monotherapy

    Time frame: First cycle (21 days per cycle)

  3. To determine the RP2D of VMD-928 in combination with pembrolizumab (Phase 1)

    RP2D of combination therapy

    Time frame: First cycle (21 days per cycle)

  4. Antitumor activity of VMD-928 in subjects with TrkA-driven tumors (Phase 2)

    Antitumor efficacy signal for monotherapy

    Time frame: Up to 18 months

  5. Antitumor activity of VMD-928 in combination with pembrolizumab in subjects with TrkA-driven tumors (Phase 2)

    Antitumor efficacy signal for combination therapy

    Time frame: Up to 18 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) of VMD-928.

    AUC

    Time frame: On Day 1 and Day 15 of Cycle 1 (each cycle is 21 days)

  2. Peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of VMD-928.

    Cmax

    Time frame: On Day 1 and Day 15 of Cycle 1 (each cycle is 21 days)

  3. Incidence of Dose Limiting Toxicities.

    \# of DLTs

    Time frame: During the Cycle 1 (each cycle is 21 days)

  4. Correlation between clinical antitumor and TrkA protein expression.

    Relationship of TrkA vs. efficacy

    Time frame: Up to the end of the Cycle 2 (each cycle is 21 days)

07

Study locations

13 of 13 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Sites
2 sites removed
Show 2 removed
  • Taylor Cancer Research Center (site 204) · Maumee, United States
  • Utah Cancer Specialists (site 203) · Salt Lake City, United States
Nov 4, 2026
Site contacts
Changed at 10 sites. See the sites
Show 10 sites
  • Hartford Hospital (site 210) · Hartford, United StatesContact c•••@hhchealth.org · •••5026→h•••@hhchealth.org · •••5025
  • The George Washington University Cancer Center (site 212) · Washington D.C., United StatesContact E•••@gwu.edu · •••2524→a•••@gwu.edu · •••3647Contact person changed (no phone or email listed)
  • Memorial Cancer Institute at Memorial Healthcare Systems (site 132) · Pembroke Pines, United StatesContact S•••@mhs.net · •••9917→J•••@mhs.net · •••2619Contact I•••@mhs.net · •••8737→I•••@mhs.net · •••8737
  • Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (site 202) · Englewood, United StatesContact W•••@ehmchealth.org · •••2572→K•••@ehmchealth.org · •••3000
  • Summit Medical Group (site 205) · Florham Park, United StatesContact m•••@summithealth.com · •••1755→m•••@summithealth.com · •••1755Contact r•••@summithealth.com · •••1748→none listedContact removed (no phone or email listed)
  • Atlantic Health System, Morristown Medical Center (site 124) · Morristown, United StatesContact s•••@atlantichealth.org · •••6373→s•••@atlantichealth.org · •••6373
  • Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital (site 208) · Albuquerque, United StatesContact m•••@phs.org · •••6143→k•••@phs.org · •••1718
  • Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University (site 126) · New York, United StatesContact j•••@med.cornell.edu→a•••@med.cornell.eduContact person changed (no phone or email listed)
  • Cancer Care Associates of York (site 206) · York, United StatesContact k•••@cancercareyork.com→k•••@wellspan.orgContact none listed→•••9229Contact j•••@cancercareyork.com→j•••@wellspan.org
  • PanOncology Trials, Hospital Oncologico - Puerto Rico Medical Center, Río Piedras (site 200) · San Juan, Puerto RicoContact a•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333→k•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333Contact c•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3338→m•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333Contact person changed (no phone or email listed)
Nov 4, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 4, 2026
    2 sites removed
    Show 2 removed
    • Taylor Cancer Research Center (site 204) · Maumee, United States
    • Utah Cancer Specialists (site 203) · Salt Lake City, United States
    Site contacts Changed at 10 sites. See the sites
    Show 10 sites
    • Hartford Hospital (site 210) · Hartford, United StatesContact c•••@hhchealth.org · •••5026→h•••@hhchealth.org · •••5025
    • The George Washington University Cancer Center (site 212) · Washington D.C., United StatesContact E•••@gwu.edu · •••2524→a•••@gwu.edu · •••3647Contact person changed (no phone or email listed)
    • Memorial Cancer Institute at Memorial Healthcare Systems (site 132) · Pembroke Pines, United StatesContact S•••@mhs.net · •••9917→J•••@mhs.net · •••2619Contact I•••@mhs.net · •••8737→I•••@mhs.net · •••8737
    • Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (site 202) · Englewood, United StatesContact W•••@ehmchealth.org · •••2572→K•••@ehmchealth.org · •••3000
    • Summit Medical Group (site 205) · Florham Park, United StatesContact m•••@summithealth.com · •••1755→m•••@summithealth.com · •••1755Contact r•••@summithealth.com · •••1748→none listedContact removed (no phone or email listed)
    • Atlantic Health System, Morristown Medical Center (site 124) · Morristown, United StatesContact s•••@atlantichealth.org · •••6373→s•••@atlantichealth.org · •••6373
    • Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital (site 208) · Albuquerque, United StatesContact m•••@phs.org · •••6143→k•••@phs.org · •••1718
    • Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University (site 126) · New York, United StatesContact j•••@med.cornell.edu→a•••@med.cornell.eduContact person changed (no phone or email listed)
    • Cancer Care Associates of York (site 206) · York, United StatesContact k•••@cancercareyork.com→k•••@wellspan.orgContact none listed→•••9229Contact j•••@cancercareyork.com→j•••@wellspan.org
    • PanOncology Trials, Hospital Oncologico - Puerto Rico Medical Center, Río Piedras (site 200) · San Juan, Puerto RicoContact a•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333→k•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333Contact c•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3338→m•••@panoncologytrials.com · •••3333Contact person changed (no phone or email listed)
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03556228
Lead sponsor
VM Oncology, LLC
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 14, 2018
Start date
Jun 8, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 4, 2026

Study contacts

Jay Wu, PhD
Contact
OM@VMOncology.com
1-510-270-2790 ext. 101
Clinical Development
study chair · VM Oncology

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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