Janux Therapeutics Inc. CEO David Campbell said the firm will be talking with the U.S. FDA about “what we may or may not be able to do [in order to get JANX-007] to patients more rapidly,” though he noted that the agency has “primarily been focused on overall survival” in considering prostate cancer drugs, so more work on that endpoint may be required. “We’ll keep that in mind,” he said.
Ipsen SA and Biomunex Pharmaceuticals SAS have signed an exclusive global licensing agreement for BMX-502, a preclinical novel T-cell engager with potential for solid tumors. BMX-502 is a bispecific antibody that engages and activates mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and targets the GPC3 tumor antigen, to kill cancer cells.
Researchers from Astrazeneca plc presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of AZD-9793, a novel CD8-guided T-cell engager (TCE) being developed for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
MDX-2001 (Modex Therapeutics Inc.) was engineered as a potentially first-in-class tetraspecific lymphocyte activator and survival enhancement receptor (LASER) recognizing CD3 and CD28 on human T cells and c-MET and TROP2 on tumor cells.
Evolveimmune Therapeutics Inc. has unveiled EVOLVE-205, a new 2:1 T-cell engager targeting CD20 with integrated affinity-tuned CD3 and CD2 agonists to promote anti-B-cell immunity.
Evolveimmune Therapeutics Inc. has secured its fourth big pharma investor and its first pharma development partnership in a deal with Abbvie Inc. The multitarget development deal with North Chicago-based Abbvie includes $65 million now, combined between an up-front payment and an equity investment. Branford, Conn.-based Evolveimmune is also eligible for up to $1.4 million in aggregate option fees and milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on sales of products that are optioned by Abbvie.
Claudin-6 (CLDN6) is a tight junction protein that has been found to be up-regulated in around 20 different types of cancer, among them ovarian, endometrial and germ cell tumors. Conventional T-cell engagers (TCEs), although effective, may be improved with costimulation to overcome T-cell exhaustion due to CDE3 stimulation alone.
In a deal that brings $60 million in cash and equity up front, plus up to $575 million in milestone payments, Shanghai-based Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. and San Diego-based Vignette Bio Inc. entered a licensing agreement for Epimab’s BCMA-targeting T-cell engager, EMB-06, for autoimmune disease.
In a deal that brings $60 million in cash and equity up front, plus up to $575 million in milestone payments, Shanghai-based Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. and San Diego-based Vignette Bio Inc. entered a licensing agreement for Epimab’s BCMA-targeting T-cell engager, EMB-06, for autoimmune disease.
