Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. has filed a provisional patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) pertaining to an anti-PD-L1 x anti-CD40 bispecific antibody, APVO-711, with the potential to treat a range of solid malignancies such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and carcinomas of the lung, gastrointestinal tract and colon.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. a US$3.1 million grant to support continued development of the company's Supernova-1 (SNV-1) preclinical program through IND application. The grant was awarded to Calidi to support IND-enabling studies, finalize manufacturing and the completion of Calidi's IND application for the SNV-1 program.
Erasca Inc. agreed to give Novartis AG $20 million cash up front and company shares (NASDAQ:ERAS) worth $80 million for an exclusive global license to naporafenib, a pan-RAF inhibitor for treating RAS/MAPK pathway-driven tumors, Erasca’s sweet spot. Erasca CEO Jonathan Lim told investors Dec. 9 that the therapy is complementary to the company’s portfolio, which includes 11 development programs targeting the pathway.
Previous research has shown that cytotoxic lymphocytes rely on gasdermin-mediated pyroptosis to kill tumor cells. Pyroptosis appears to be closely involved in anticancer immune response and has therefore emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment. In a recently published study, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison aimed to leverage gasdermin-triggered pyroptosis for antitumor immunotherapy.
Treatment with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors is not effective in all cases, and around 10% of melanoma patients actually experience a rapid deterioration, a phenomenon known as hyperprogressive disease. Some studies have linked hyperprogression to specific immune cell populations or genes, and it remains unclear if this complication can be directly attributed to checkpoint immunotherapy or not.
Subpopulation of senescent-like cells are known contributors to acquiring drug resistance in cancer. Potential therapies are increasingly being developed with designs to reduce the proportion of slowly dividing cells rather than to kill hyperproliferative cells. Insufficient RNA-binding protein HuR/ELAVL1 levels are known to cause cell senescence, while increased HuR is associated with proliferation.
Immunocytokines (ICs) engage multiple mechanisms of action by the use of antibodies to deliver cytokine payloads to the surface of the same immune cell, known as cis-signaling. Researchers from Bright Peak Therapeutics AG have developed ICs by using a novel approach based on site-specific chemical conjugation of engineered cytokines to existing nonmodified antibodies.
