PMV Pharma's p53 drug rezatapopt hits 46% response rate in Phase 2 ovarian cancer readout
PMV Pharmaceuticals has reported updated interim results from the pivotal Phase 2 portion of its PYNNACLE trial, showing its experimental cancer drug rezatapopt shrank tumours in nearly half of the ovarian cancer patients treated.
What the drug does: rezatapopt is a first-of-its-kind small molecule that targets p53, a protein nicknamed the "guardian of the genome" because it normally suppresses tumours. In many cancers p53 is broken by a specific mutation (called TP53 Y220C); rezatapopt is designed to slot into the damaged protein and restore its natural tumour-fighting function. p53 has resisted drug developers for decades, which makes a working therapy notable.
The data: among 76 evaluable ovarian cancer patients, 46% saw their tumours shrink (the overall response rate), including four whose tumours disappeared entirely. Responses lasted a median of 10 months. Side effects were mostly mild, with only 5% of patients stopping treatment because of them. PMV has finished enrolling patients in the key ovarian cancer group and, backed by recent U.S. FDA feedback, plans to file for accelerated approval in platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer in the first quarter of 2027. Full results across all tumour types are due at a medical conference in the fourth quarter of 2026.
