Dragonboat cuts Phase 1 target 91% to 12 patients, closes trial with no posted data
NCT04739111 finished with 12 of a planned 130 patients and no results on ClinicalTrials.gov, leaving the dose-finding readout for Dragonboat's PD-L1/EGFR combination undisclosed.
Executive Summary
- Dragonboat Biopharmaceutical Company Limited's registry record for NCT04739111 now shows a completed Phase 1 trial with 12 actual patients enrolled, down 91% from the original 130-patient target, disclosed on July 6, 2026 Press ReleasePress ReleaseJul 6, 2026.
- ClinicalTrials.gov carries no posted results for the dose-limiting-toxicity, adverse-event, or recommended-dose endpoints, so the trial's core safety and dose-finding questions remain unanswered in public view.
- AppliedXL's registry risk model flags the trial critical, at 100 out of 100, citing an enrollment shortfall of 90.8% and a completion date pulled in without a corresponding disclosure trail.
- No trial in the dossier tests an identical PD-L1/EGFR combination in this design; the nearest points of reference are modality precedents like amivantamab and PD-L1 monotherapies, none of which resolve what happened in this specific cohort.
- Until Dragonboat posts results, the enrollment cut itself, not any efficacy or safety signal, is the only verifiable fact investors can act on.
The registry change
ClinicalTrials.gov's July 6, 2026 update to NCT04739111 shows the trial's actual enrollment at 12 patients, an 91% drop from the original 130-patient target. The same update backdates the primary completion date to September 5, 2022 and marks the trial Completed, a status change from Unknown status that had been in place since February 2024. The trial tests LDP, a human anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, combined with CDP1, a recombinant anti-EGFR chimeric monoclonal antibody, in patients with advanced malignant tumors across five expansion cohorts including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
What the endpoints measure
The trial's three primary endpoints are all safety and dose-finding measures: dose-limiting toxicities within 28 days of the first combined dose, incidence of adverse events through 30 days after the last dose, and the recommended dose for further clinical trials based on the escalation and expansion phases. None of these are efficacy endpoints, and none have posted results on ClinicalTrials.gov. Secondary endpoints, including objective response rate and progression-free survival, are also undisclosed.
The risk signal
AppliedXL's registry-based risk model scores this trial critical, at 100 out of 100, citing five signals: a completion date accelerated by 149 days to within 60 days of the change itself, a 90.8% enrollment target decrease, a final enrollment 90.8% below the original target, eligibility criteria modified twice, and a combined shift in both eligibility and enrollment that the model reads as a possible population change. The model's landscape quadrant for this trial reads 'Struggling in hard territory,' pairing operational distress with a structurally challenging indication.
Competitive and field context
No trial in the dossier shares this exact PD-L1/EGFR dual-antibody combination in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; the competitive framework marks no direct comparator and places the nearest precedent at the modality level, such as Janssen's amivantamab program (EGFR-bispecific, different target pairing). Broader PD-L1 field activity in this indication has slowed, with 193 recent trials against 1,239 older ones, a ratio the landscape data describe as decelerating. Eight active trials target the indication overall, led by AstraZeneca's Phase 3 volrustomig and Aveta Biomics' Phase 3 APG-157, neither of which uses this combination.
The sponsor picture
Dragonboat Biopharmaceutical Company Limited's sponsor profile returns zero trials in its portfolio history beyond this one, leaving no base rate to judge whether the enrollment cut and multi-year disclosure lag are typical of this sponsor's execution pattern or unusual. That absence of a track record, combined with the missing results, means the enrollment change stands alone as the only confirmed fact in this update.
This analysis was produced using AI-assisted reporting systems, AppliedXL data, and official public records. These systems undergo editorial review, quality checks, and regular audits by human experts. Errors may still occur, as with any automated system. Always consult the linked primary sources. Read our AI Editorial Policy.
