Recruiting
Phase 1

BCA101

Sponsor:

Bicara Therapeutics

Code:

NCT04429542

Conditions

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Anal Canal

Colorectal Cancer

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung

EGFR Amplification

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

BCA101

Pembrolizumab

Study Details

Brief summary:

The investigational drug to be studied in this protocol, BCA101, is a first-in-class compound that targets both EGFR with TGFβ. Based on preclinical data, this bifunctional antibody may exert synergistic activity in patients with EGFR-driven tumors.

Conditions

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Anal Canal

Colorectal Cancer

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung

EGFR Amplification

Study ID

NCT04429542

Start date

Jun 1, 2020

Status verified date

Aug, 2025

Completion date

Jun 1, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient must have measurable disease amendable to biopsy and be willing to undergo both a pre-treatment and on-treatment biopsy, as well as provide archival tumor if available from the primary tumor (a paraffin embedded tumor tissue block sufficient to obtain at least 10 sections of 4 to 5 micrometer thickness).
  • Patient must have a performance status of ≤1 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Scale.
  • Patients must have evaluable or measurable disease (computed tomography \[CT\]/magnetic resonance imaging \[MRI\] scans performed within 21 days before the screening visit are acceptable) demonstrating measurable disease, i.e., at least 1 unidimensional measurable lesion as defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, Version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) and Immune Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST).
  • Tumor eligibility:

PART B (Cohort expansion):

1. Single agent BCA101 - patients with the following tumor type will be eligible:

• Expansion Cohort 1: Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC) - i. patients must have received (or been intolerant to or ineligible for) prior anti-PD-1 therapy in the metastatic or locally advanced setting.

ii. No prior history of treatment with anti-EGFR antibodies in the unresectable/metastatic setting (prior treatment with radiotherapy in the adjuvant setting is allowed).
2. Combination BCA101 and pembrolizumab - patients with the following tumor types will be eligible:

• Expansion Cohort 2: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), metastatic or unresectable, recurrent with a Combined Positive Score (CPS) equal to or greater than 1, as determined by an CLIA-approved laboratory test. Primary tumor locations of oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, or larynx. Participants may not have a primary tumor site of nasopharynx (any histology).

i. Patients must have no prior systemic therapy administered in the recurrent or metastatic setting (with the exception of systemic therapy completed >6 months prior if given as part of multimodal treatment for locally advanced disease) or prior history of immune checkpoint inhibitors with the exception of neoadjuvant therapy (>6 months prior to study drug initiation). No prior history of anti-EGFR antibodies (with the exception of radiosensitizing agents and multimodal treatment for locally advanced disease).

ii. Patients must provide tissue for PD-L1 biomarker analysis from a core or excisional biopsy (fine needle aspirate is not sufficient): A newly obtained biopsy (within 90 days prior to start of study treatment) is preferred but an archival sample is acceptable.

iii. Patients must have results from testing of human papillomavirus (HPV) status for oropharyngeal cancer
  • Expansion Cohort 3: Squamous Carcinoma of the Anal Canal (SCAC), locally advanced/unresectable or metastatic.

i. Patients must have received (or been intolerant to or ineligible for) at least 1 prior line of chemotherapy and received no more than 2 prior lines of systemic treatments for treatment of unresectable and/or metastatic disease. No prior history of immune checkpoint inhibitors.
  • Expansion Cohort 5: Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (SqNSCLC) i. Patients must have a histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of stage IV (AJCC 8th edition) squamous NSCLC. Patients with mixed histology (e.g., adenosquamous) are not allowed.

ii. Patients must have progressed on one prior systemic therapy in the metastatic setting.

iii. No prior history of treatment with anti-EGFR antibodies in the metastatic setting.

• Expansion Cohort 6: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), metastatic or unresectable, recurrent with a Combined Positive Score (CPS) less than 1, as determined by PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx.
3. Randomized to either ficerafusp alfa alone or in combination with pembrolizumab • Expansion Cohort 9: Colorectal cancer (CRC) i. Patients must have received at least 2 and no more than 3 prior lines of systemic therapy including two standard treatment regimens.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • For Part A: Exposure to anti-EGFR antibodies within 4 weeks of the first dose of study drug.
  • Prior treatment with any anti-TGFβ therapy.
  • Prior history of Grade ≥ 2 intolerance or hypersensitivity reaction to cetuximab or other anti-EGFR therapy or other murine proteins or prior discontinuation of therapy in the setting of toxicity related to treatment.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Any condition requiring systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (>10 mg daily of prednisone or equivalent) or other immunosuppressive medication within 14 days prior to the first dose of study drug, with the exception of topical, intranasal, intrabronchial, or ocular steroids.
  • Known history of a hematologic malignancy (or solid tumor other than the ones indicated for this study), unless the patient has undergone potentially curative therapy with no evidence of that disease for 2 years. Does not include tumors with a negligible risk of metastasis or death (e.g. adequately treated basal or squamous cell carcinoma, stage 1 prostate cancer, or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or carcinoma in situ of the breast). Subjects enrolling in the CSCC cohort may have chronic lymphocytic leukemia as long as the patient is not on active treatment.
  • Known cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are excluded if patients have a CD4+ T-cell (CD4+) count <250 cells/uL. To ensure that effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) is tolerated and that toxicities are not confused with investigational drug toxicities, trial participants should be on established ART for at least four weeks and have an HIV viral load less than 400 copies/mL prior to enrollment.
  • Patients with chronic HBV infection with active disease who meet the criteria for anti-HBV therapy and are not on a suppressive antiviral therapy prior to initiation of study treatment
  • Patients with a known history of hepatitis C who have not completed curative antiviral treatment or have a HCV viral load above the limit of quantification

Study Design

Enrollment

292 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: BCA101 Monotherapy

Route: IV Infusion Frequency: QW Current Dose: 1500mg

experimental: BCA101 + pembrolizumab

Route: IV Infusion Frequency: Q3W Dose: 200mg

Interventions

BCA101

EGFR/TGFβ fusion monoclonal antibody

Pembrolizumab

anti-PD-1

Primary outcome measure

  • Safety of BCA101 alone and BCA101 in combination with pembrolizumab: Incidence and severity of AEs and SAEs [ Time Frame: 24 months ]
  • Tolerability of BCA101 alone and BCA101 in combination with pembrolizumab: Incidence and severity of AEs and SAEs [ Time Frame: 24 months ]
  • Incidence of Dose Limiting Toxicities (DLTs) [ Time Frame: 21 days ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

Moores Cancer Center UC San Diego Health

Recruiting

La Jolla, California, United States, 92093

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Assuntina Sacco, MD

Keck School of Medicine of USC

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90033

Principal Investigator:

Gino In, MD

UCLA

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095

Principal Investigator:

Deborah Wong, MD

University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

Recruiting

Sacramento, California, United States, 95817

Principal Investigator:

Andrew Birkeland, MD

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc

Recruiting

Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Christine Chung, MD

Dana Farber/Partners Cancer Care Inc

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115

Contacts

DFCI Clinical Trials Hotline

8773387425

Principal Investigator:

Glenn Hanna, MD

Memorial Sloan Kettering

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10017

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Paul Paik, MD

Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10032

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Catherine Shu, MD

Levine Cancer Institute

Recruiting

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28204

Contacts

Daniel R Carrizosa, MD, MS, FACP

980-442-3213

Cleveland Clinic

Recruiting

Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44195

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Tamara Sussman, MD

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Recruiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15232

Contacts

Sarah Brodeur

brodeurs@upmc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Dan Zanberg, MD

Rhode Island Hospital

Recruiting

Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02903

Principal Investigator:

Ariel Birnbaum, MD

Medical University of South Carolina, Hollings Cancer Center

Recruiting

Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

John Kaczmar, MD

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Recruiting

Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232

Principal Investigator:

Jennifer Choe, MD, PhD

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Recruiting

Houston, Texas, United States, 77030

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Van Morris, MD

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2M9

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Phillippe Bedard, MD

More Information

Sponsor

Bicara Therapeutics

Last update posted

Aug 15, 2025

Last verified

Aug, 2025

Keywords

  • TGFβ
  • EGFR
  • pembrolizumab
  • ficerafusp alfa

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Bicara Therapeutics on 2025-08-15.