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CompletedNCT06014086Updated Sep 21, 2026

Intratumoral PH-762 for Cutaneous Carcinoma

A Phase 1 interventional study of PH-762 in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin, Malignant Melanoma of Skin and Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Skin, sponsored by Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.. Completed at 5 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-21.

Sponsored by Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc. · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
22
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

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.

Read the 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.

02

Conditions studied

  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin
  • Malignant Melanoma of Skin
  • Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Skin

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03

In context

Melanoma

3,006 studies on the registry are indexed under Melanoma; 520 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 22 is below the median of 38 across 2,351 interventional studies indexed under Melanoma.

Browse Melanoma studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc. as lead sponsor.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

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.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
22 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • 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

Interventions

  • DrugPH-762

    PH-762 is a potent RNAi molecule targeting PD-1.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Adverse Events

    Incidence, severity, seriousness and relatedness of all treatment-emergent adverse events.

    Time frame: 16 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pharmacokinetics: maximum plasma concentration (Cmax)

    Maximum concentration of PH-762 following intratumoral injection.

    Time frame: 3.5 weeks

  2. Pharmacokinetics: time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax)

    Time to maximum concentration of PH-762 following intratumoral injection.

    Time frame: 3.5 weeks

  3. Pharmacokinetics: area under the curve to last quantifiable plasma concentration (AUClast)

    Exposure to PH-762 through last quantifiable concentration following intratumoral injection.

    Time frame: 3.5 weeks

  4. Pathologic response

    Pathological response will be assessed by relative amount of viable tumor in resection specimens of the treated lesion.

    Time frame: 5 weeks

  5. Tumor burden

    Change in tumor burden will be assessed per RECIST/ iRECIST guidelines for the treated lesion.

    Time frame: 5 weeks

07

Study locations

5 sites
  • Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
    Gilbert, Arizona 85234, United States
  • Paradigm Clinical Research
    San Diego, California 92108, United States
  • Integrity Research
    Delray Beach, Florida 33445, United States
  • Skin Cancer and Dermatology Institute
    Reno, Nevada 89509, United States
  • Centricity Research
    Columbus, Ohio 43213, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Cuiffo B, Maxwell M, Yan D, Guemiri R, Boone A, Bellet D, Rivest B, Cardia J, Robert C, Fricker SP. Self-delivering RNAi immunotherapeutic PH-762 silences PD-1 to generate local and abscopal antitumor efficacy. Front Immunol. 2024 Dec 4;15:1501679. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1501679. eCollection 2024. PubMed 39697325 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 21, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06014086
Lead sponsor
Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Collaborators
Prosoft Clinical
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 28, 2023
Start date
Nov 7, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 29, 2025
Completion
Mar 17, 2026
Last update
Sep 21, 2026

Study contacts

Linda Mahoney
study director · Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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