Medilink Therapeutics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. has entered into a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. for the development of YL-211, a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate candidate targeting proto-oncogene c-Met for solid tumors.
Obi Pharma Inc. has received FDA clearance for its IND application to conduct a phase I/II study of OBI-992, a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) cancer therapy targeting TROP2. The trial will open shortly and aims to enroll patients with advanced solid tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer and gastric cancer, although several other cancers are also potential targets.
Immunoscape Pte Ltd. and Mink Therapeutics Inc. have entered into a collaboration agreement to discover and develop next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies against novel targets in solid tumors.
Gilead Sciences Inc. has signed an agreement with Compugen Ltd. to exclusively license Compugen’s preclinical antibody program against IL-18 binding protein, including the COM-503 drug candidate. COM-503 is a high affinity antibody which blocks the interaction between IL-18 binding protein and IL-18, thereby inhibiting cancer growth.
Verastem Inc. has announced the nomination of an oral KRAS G12D inhibitor, VS-7375 (GFH-375), as the lead program from its discovery and development collaboration with Genfleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Inc.
Avstera Therapeutics Corp. has received FDA clearance of its IND application for HDAC6 inhibitor AVS-100. Avstera intends to initiate a phase Ia/b trial in the first half of 2024 to evaluate AVS-100 alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine protease that is highly overexpressed in the stroma of most epithelial-derived tumors – including pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancers – in the context of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).
Immuneering Corp. has obtained FDA clearance of its IND application for IMM-6-415, an oral, twice-daily small molecule in development for the treatment of advanced RAF or RAS mutant solid tumors.
Gigagen Inc., a subsidiary of Grifols SA, has received clearance from the FDA of its IND application to conduct a phase I trial of GIGA-564 for the treatment of solid tumors.