On the heels of more positive early data from the lead program derived from its tumor-activated T-cell engager (TRACTr) platform, Janux Therapeutics Inc. inked a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. that comes with $50 million in up-front and near-term milestone payments, with the possibility of up to $800 million more tied to development, regulatory and commercial milestones.
Unlike patients with HER2+ tumors, there is an unmet clinical need for patients with HER2-low expression cancers, which are refractory to trastuzumab. Sanofi SA has developed TPP-45142, a T-cell engager consisting of two nanobody domains targeting HER2 and T-cell receptor (TCR) fused to an Fc region harboring the F234A and L235A mutations to inhibit effector function.
Bispecific T-cell engagers (TCEs) aim to combat cancer by simultaneously binding T cells and tumor cells in order to induce the first to kill the second. This approach has failed to work effectively against many solid tumors because the exogenous engager proteins do not penetrate into tumors at sufficiently high concentrations.
Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. has announced acceptance of IND applications by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for three differentiated candidates for the treatment of solid tumors.
Crossbow Therapeutics Inc. has provided details on the preclinical characterization for the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT)-targeting T-cell engager CBX-663.
Cartography Biosciences Inc. has received IND approval from the FDA for CBI-1214, a T-cell engager being developed for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
Werewolf Therapeutics Inc. has announced that its priorities for the coming year include a focus on the company’s Inducer T-cell engager platform, where preclinical studies have demonstrated robust silencing and reduction of off-tumor toxicity.
Modex Therapeutics Inc. has developed MDX-2003, a first-in-class tetraspecific T-cell engager targeting CD19 and CD20 on B cells, while co-engaging CD3 and CD28 on T cells.
Abpro Holdings Inc. and Celltrion Inc. have announced the submission of an IND application to the FDA for ABP-102 (CT-P72), a HER2 x CD3 T-cell engager. Pending clearance, a phase I trial in patients with HER2-positive cancers, including breast and gastric cancers, is anticipated to begin in the first half of next year.
Pancreatic cancer is among the most aggressive cancer types, with survival rates being very low and current treatment being quite ineffective. To address this unmet medical need, HCW Biologics Inc. has developed and presented preclinical data for their T-cell engager approach – HCW11-018.
