Nearly 20 years of work in cancer immunotherapy finally scored two big regulatory wins in recent years, with the approvals of Dendreon Corp.'s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge (sipuleucel-T) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s melanoma drug Yervoy (ipilimumab), but there is plenty of room for new approaches before the immunotherapy space reaches its full potential.

Enter iTeos Therapeutics SA, a Belgian start-up incorporated last year as a joint spinoff of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and the de Duve Institute at the Universite catholique de Louvain (UCL). Its aim is to build an immunomodulatory drug discovery platform that can add to the promise of immunotherapy, which could "not only treat, but also cure cancer," said Michel Detheux, co-founder and CEO of iTeos, whose name combines immunotherapy (IT) with Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn, and represents a "new day for immunotherapy."

The space encompasses a wide range of therapeutic approaches. Provenge, for example, is an autologous cell therapy, while Yervoy is an off-the-shelf T-cell potentiator. Yet, rather than be competitive with either of those approaches, iTeos' strategy lends itself to a more complementary role, Detheux said.

In its studies, Yervoy was able to trigger an effective immune response, producing significant results, which led to its approval last year. "It's a good starting point," Detheux told BioWorld Today, "but over the last year, it became evident that tumors were able to develop mechanisms of immunosuppression." (See BioWorld Today, March 28, 2011.)

iTeos' discoveries, led by Benoit Van den Eynde, the Brussels Branch director at LICR, UCL professor and company co-founder, are based on the idea that the immune system can be modulated via small-molecule drugs to boost the attack against cancer. Those immunomodulators also could improve the outcome of cancer vaccine treatment when given in combination, Detheux said.

They also could work in tandem with other cancer treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy, he added.

iTeos is in early development on three target enzymes. One of those, tryptophan dioxygenase (TDO), was discovered in Van den Eynde's research to be a critical enzyme produced by a several tumors. Results of mouse studies, published in the January 2012 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that blocking TDO promoted tumor rejection.

A similar enzyme, indoleamine dioxygenase, or IDO, also was found to play a role in tumor growth.

iTeos' lead program is about two years from the clinic. Within four years, the goal is to have data from a Phase I/IIa trial with the lead small molecule and to file an investigational new drug on a second compound, Detheux said.

At that time, the firm will be in a position to decide how to proceed – whether to seek a partner or continue developing the drug on its own. "It's too early [to say] now," he added. "Our priority is to build the immunomodulatory platform."

Its funding of €9 million (US$11.8 million) to date should get iTeos to that point. The firm received a €6 million nondilutive grant from the Belgian Walloon government in December. iTeos is headquartered in Gosselies in the Walloon region.

That grant helped to attract another €3 million in investments from LICR, Hunza Ventures SCA, Life Sciences Research Partners, VIVES Louvain Technology Fund and several business angels.

Natacha Beaumont, of Hunza, and Philippe Durieux, of VIVES, joined the company's board, which also includes Jonathan Skipper, of LICR; Chris Byse, of European biotech ThromboGenics NV; and independent chairman Philippe Guinot.

Having operated virtually since its inception, iTeos is "just starting to hire people and build a team," Detheux said. The company also will rely heavily on its connection to LICR, which offers scientific and clinical trial resources, as well as access to the vaccines that iTeos first plans to combine with its immunomodulators. "They're both a major investor and a strategic partner," he noted.

iTeos is the ninth firm spun out of LICR. Other notable spinouts include Piramed Ltd., a PI3K developer acquired by Roche AG for $160 million up front in 2008; Australian angiogenesis-focused Vegenics Ltd., later acquired by Circadian Technologies Ltd.; and Recepta Biopharma, a Brazilian biotech working on an antibody candidate in ovarian cancer. (See BioWorld Today, May 10, 2006, and April 16, 2008.)