{"entity":{"id":"gedeptin","kind":"drug","name":"Gedeptin","aka":["Gedeptin (GDEPT, adenovirus PNP with fludarabine phosphate)"],"tldr":"Gedeptin is a gene therapy from GeoVax that is injected into a tumour and makes the tumour turn a follow-up drug into a poison for itself. It has been tested in advanced head and neck cancer.","summary":"Gedeptin is GeoVax's gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy, licensed from PNP Therapeutics in 2021 and developed with National Cancer Institute funding. A cycle consists of intratumoral injections followed by fludarabine phosphate. GeoVax reports a phase 1 dose-ranging study and a completed phase 1b/2a trial (PNP-002, NCT03754933) of repeat cycles in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with injectable tumours and no curative option, and an FDA orphan drug designation for intratumoral treatment of anatomically accessible oral and pharyngeal cancers. A phase 2 trial with an immune checkpoint inhibitor as first-line treatment before curative surgery is planned for the second half of 2027.","status":"phase-1","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"SEC: GeoVax Labs Form S-1, November 2026","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/832489/000143774926034729/govx20261102_s1.htm"},{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov: PNP-002 (NCT03754933)","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03754933"}],"tags":["pipeline"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["geovax"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"provenance":{"editedBy":"OnCo startup monitors","editedOn":"2026-11-04"},"modality":"Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (adenovirus vector)","mechanism":"A replication-deficient adenovirus vector, injected into the tumour, transduces tumour cells with a non-human gene whose enzyme converts the inactive prodrug fludarabine phosphate, given afterwards, into an active anti-tumour compound in the tumour, as described by GeoVax.","approvals":[],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/gedeptin/","neighbours":{"company":[{"id":"geovax","kind":"company","name":"GeoVax","route":"/companies/geovax/"}]}}